Health question for the Baby Boomers

[Fifth]

The people over 50 I know are varied in terms of health and lifestyle. Some suffer chronic and debilitating illnesses, others are fairly healthy. Some took excellent care of their bodies, others took a more carefree/negligent approach. Some are fit and exercise regularly, others would struggle to climb a flight of stairs.

However, the universal theme is that they all seem to find day to day life difficult (to varying degrees) and they complain a LOT about their various physical ailments whether real or imagined.

Even the healthiest among them is borderline obsessed with every little ache, pain and vitamin deficiency.

Those who still work seem to have a chip on their shoulder as if it's unfair and inhumane that they should be forced to work in their 50s and early 60s. They seem burnt out.

I'm talking about the 50-65 age bracket. I'm not talking about 80 year olds.

I'm 30 so I have a while to go before I reach 50, but I also know how quickly time flies. I'm now dreading being over 50 thanks to the negative nellies I'm surrounded by. A graceful exit at 49 is becoming tempting.

My question is this:

For those of you who are over 50, is life really that painful and difficult or am I surrounded by hypochondriacs?

 

[turk]

Surrounded by hypochondriacs.

 

[Fifth]

Surrounded by hypochondriacs.

haha. I thought so.

 

[moyjos]

Surrounded by hypochondriacs.

Agree. Sounds like you are surrounded by a who,e lot of people who have made some bad choices and are not happy with life.

I am almost at the 50 year mark am having the best time . No kids, do what i want- when i want - how i want. .... Most of the time. We have a business and do still work, but on our own terms.

Most definatly i am not as fit as i was at 30 but i really dont care. I know i have diabetes in the family so that is about the extent of my "looking after" myself. I keep a loose eye on weight and eat healthy but am not fanatical about it.

 

[robbiejuve]

Simply surround yourself with people that dont complain like this and talk about what you like to talk about.

Already at your age, I bet you don't hang out with negative people that hate the world and think everything sucks, I don't know many people that actively seek out this sort of company.

I personally cannot stand people that talk about their jobs, especially bitching about work, so if I ever encounter such people in my social circles, I take note and avoid them for the rest of my life. Plenty of other interesting people to meet and get to know.

 

[willair]

My question is this:

For those of you who are over 50, is life really that painful and difficult or am I surrounded by hypochondriacs?

Being on the wrong side of 55,i don't find it like that and I have one farmer mate in his 80's and I have never heard him complain he had a dart board in the milking complex with a photo of a red-head Lady in his office so he is still sharp as a nailgun,i check my blood sugar levels everymorning
walk down the side of the bunker pick 2 hanfulls of herbs all legal then come what may..

 

[Crabnet]

My problem is that when I was younger I was very athletic with sport and did some work that involved manual labour.
Consequently I have a prolapsed disc that I have lived with for 30 years, worn out knees that makes climbing stairs difficult, a number of hernias and an arthritic wrist from a healed fracture.
What I found was that as I got older my mind didn't account for the ageing of my body parts so I would, for instance, lift a heavy item and suffer the consequences of tearing something internally.
But I don't complain. I make allowances for my physical limitations and find ways to work around the problems.
The biggest concern for me is losing my mental faculties, highlighted by the need to assist my father in his later years when vascular dementia struck suddenly.

 

[china]

I am 38 and feel like retiring as soon as practicable or doing only three half days a week.

 

[Richard Feynman]

I am 38 and feel like retiring as soon as practicable or doing only three half days a week.

How many hours a week of work would you have averaged over your entire working career?

 

[willair]

I am 38 and feel like retiring as soon as practicable or doing only three half days a week.

FMD China with the money you are on you should be sitting up at Noosa
in the deckchair watching all the Ladies walk past on the strip..

 

[chrispy]

Well over 50/60...my friends are still working but are very happy and fit. I go to the gym 6 days a week, walk every day and so do most of my friends.

I go overseas 4 times a year, plus travel within Australia...what is there to complain about?????

Attitude is what it is all about

Chris

 

[china]

How many hours a week of work would you have averaged over your entire working career?

On average about 60 hours a week but occasionally up to 70-80. Would be good to drop down to 20 hours a week and go back to uni to study some history or literature.

 

[bbmick]

I am 38 and feel like retiring as soon as practicable or doing only three half days a week.

I felt perfectly fit until I retired 7 years ago - now 51.

A couple years ago, I bought 2 IP's on same day to reno by myself fulltime (so much for retirement). Ended up with a knee op that had me out for 8-10 weeks after the first place, then half way through the next, I ended up with heart issues - had a few stents put in & straight back to finish reno after only a week off. After that, my left shoulder is stuffed, not sure how I did it, haven't bothered getting fixed yet.

Knee still not right............don't think it ever will be. Convinced they won't fix the shoulder either, not 100% anyways.

Apart from that, I do still feel capable - I'm starting to look for another IP to work on - early next year perhaps - after the shoulder fixed.

 

[china]

FMD China with the money you are on you should be sitting up at Noosa
in the deckchair watching all the Ladies walk past on the strip..

I can't see how you can come to this conclusion.

 

[willair]

I can't see how you can come to this conclusion.

Maybe I have read you wrong ,,but reading between the lines and looking at the simple numbers you have posted something seems out of wack,i thought you are a high end business person..

 

[itinerantotter]

For those of you who are over 50, is life really that painful and difficult or am I surrounded by hypochondriacs?

Yep, surrounded by hypochondriacs .

cheers

 

[macca446]

The people over 50 I know are varied in terms of health and lifestyle. Some suffer chronic and debilitating illnesses, others are fairly healthy. Some took excellent care of their bodies, others took a more carefree/negligent approach. Some are fit and exercise regularly, others would struggle to climb a flight of stairs.

However, the universal theme is that they all seem to find day to day life difficult (to varying degrees) and they complain a LOT about their various physical ailments whether real or imagined.

Even the healthiest among them is borderline obsessed with every little ache, pain and vitamin deficiency.

Those who still work seem to have a chip on their shoulder as if it's unfair and inhumane that they should be forced to work in their 50s and early 60s. They seem burnt out.

I'm talking about the 50-65 age bracket. I'm not talking about 80 year olds.

I'm 30 so I have a while to go before I reach 50, but I also know how quickly time flies. I'm now dreading being over 50 thanks to the negative nellies I'm surrounded by. A graceful exit at 49 is becoming tempting.

My question is this:

For those of you who are over 50, is life really that painful and difficult or am I surrounded by hypochondriacs?

Hi,
I say you are,I am 53 now at the age of 50 suffered a terrible back injury in which has stopped me working until now, my perseverance and attitude to life has kept me going and now although still job seeking will not give up,in this time apart from rehab I was reading and learning more and this has been my godsend, I have just settled on my 4th IP and still looking. I love to work,rest and play now.
Macca446

 

[geoffw]

I'm 59 and healthy. I have regular checkups, I just take some medication to keep blood pressure under control.

I'm studying full time. It's pretty full time but I'm enjoying it.

My wife has a lot of things wrong with her. She tells me about them, but never her friends. She is an extremely positive person.

The "older" people I hang out with are positive people themselves. I never hear the whinges. They're all too busy enjoying life.

 

[itinerantotter]

I'm 68 and pretty damned healthy. I eat well, and exercise every day - just a bit slower. Not doing the renos I used to do - I'm not saying I couldn't though . Still dealing with a heavy load of admin. A happy, healthy old age is a matter of attitude - and I'm not sure it can be taught.

cheers

 

[BayView]

My question is this:

For those of you who are over 50, is life really that painful and difficult or am I surrounded by hypochondriacs?

You are surrounded by hypos.

I'm 52, and pretty healthy I guess. No real issues, but then; I've made an effort to try and be healthy and active my whole life - take the stairs instead of the lift and stuff like that.

I do have a spot of arthritis in the right thumb (family history, but could also be golf related).

People who complain of health issues at our age are probably mostly valid; but no-one wants to hear you complain, so they need to learn that and not burden others with their health whinges.

I'm also a firm believer that most health issues are self-inflicted; diet, exercise, and so on.

Most folk of my vintage in my world are pretty healthy.