"We have never lived so long, so well, nor had more available advice on how to do so: don't smoke, don't drink, don't eat ultraprocessed foods; lift weights, get outside, learn a language. Cosmetics or surgery have never been so available, so advanced, nor so widely used; we take for granted medical procedures that previous ages would have considered miracles. And something's clearly working: average global life expectancy is the highest in recorded history."
"The fastest growing demographic is now the over-80s. There is much public hand-wringing about the burdens this ageing population will place on health and care systems, and on younger people. But what is far less talked about, argues the clinical psychologist Frank Tallis in his new book, Wise, is how to get older well: not just in physical, but in mental good health."
"The term is now often used as a punchline, especially with regard to men, but, writes Tallis, the male midlife crisis isn't really a comedy. It is a tragedy. His contention is that as most of us live longer, and chase youth ever more intently, the question of how to manage that presumed midpoint and thus the increasingly long second stage of life just becomes more urgent."
Lifespans have increased and medical, cosmetic, and lifestyle advice is abundant, producing record-high global life expectancy and a growing over-80 population. Public concern centers on the burdens of ageing for health systems and younger generations, while mental health in later life receives comparatively little attention. Midlife often brings a mix of mild memory problems, unease, and sometimes severe psychological distress; the midlife crisis, frequently trivialized, can be tragic. As people live longer and pursue youth, managing the midpoint and the longer second half of life becomes an urgent challenge. Historical and scientific traditions reveal converging insights about ageing and midlife.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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