Study Guide: Breaking the Age Code by Becca Levy, PhD (PithBooks): How Your Beliefs about Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live

Would you love to live a happy life, irrespective of your age?

Culture impacts how people age. The Japanese culture takes menopause as a natural part of aging and would not stigmatize people going through it. In the western world, it's like a mid-life affliction, and women going through it are likely to be stigmatized. This can also account for the difference in libido ages of men; Japanese men have higher testosterone levels than European men due to the prevalent...
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Would you love to live a happy life, irrespective of your age?

Culture impacts how people age. The Japanese culture takes menopause as a natural part of aging and would not stigmatize people going through it. In the western world, it's like a mid-life affliction, and women going through it are likely to be stigmatized. This can also account for the difference in libido ages of men; Japanese men have higher testosterone levels than European men due to the prevalent aging cultures. The fact that the Japanese have the longest life span in the world brings to mind the question of the possibility of our culture impacting the way we age. Physical and cognitive performance, recovery, and memory in older people improve with their positive perceptions of aging. Age beliefs can either accelerate or buffer against negative tendencies such as the susceptibility to dementia or Alzheimer's.

Ageism is an epidemic that has been allowed to prevail for too long. We need to challenge the promotion of negative and false age stereotypes. There have to be structural reforms in every part of the society concerning ageism. This includes medicine, mental healthcare, the government, education workplace, and the advertisement industry. What we need is a culture that celebrates older people. These positive attitudes and beliefs make living in old age more enjoyable, healthy, and fulfilling. It also offers benefits to the younger generation.

This summary is centered around the impact of beliefs about aging on health. It expatiates on the age-long cultural stereotypes surrounding aging and calls for a cultural change. It examines stories of successful aging and explores what it takes to make a change. The impact of the mindset on aging is more important than that of gender, income, social background, loneliness, or functional health. With this change, the right mindset and tools can be developed to transform the aging process. The book sums up how individuals and society can change their thoughts and beliefs about aging and that of those around them to enjoy the benefits of this change.

Buy this book now and learn the effects of negative age beliefs, as well as the relationship between age beliefs, health and recovery.