I’m not senile… If I burn the house down it will be on purpose.
…………………………………..Margaret Attwood, The Blind Assassin
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Age makes weary, but words condemn.
Old age creeps up on us all, but we can stay lively all our lives. Old Age, however, has had a long history of bad press. As a consequence, it is very easy to develop a ‘geriatric’ mindset and start using geriatric language. This is how it works. One day, without realising it, you say ‘I had a fall’ rather than ‘I fell over’, ‘I had a funny turn’ instead of ‘I felt dizzy’ and ‘My mind is going’ or ‘I can’t remember a thing’ in stead of ‘I forgot’.
This is important. Research shows that immersing yourself in ‘debilitating’ language slows you down. Scientists have actually measured the walking pace of subjects. Young and old. The reverse is also true. Using ‘energetic’ language will speed you up.
What more can I say? Go wild. It’ll do you some good.
Reference: How to Age, Anne Karpf, The School of Life (2014), p48
sibylesque 
[…] it can actually reduce your life span. We have noted before that this stereotype is reinforced by Geriatric Self-Talk and assumptions of the medical profession. Now two recent publications support this […]