Aging is an experience we all go through – there is no escape, not even money can get you out of it. Existential questions begin to be processed at any age, whether due to the death of an animal or the deterioration of the grandmother’s health and her inevitable death. The following article will look at the ways we can better deal with our own mortality and the signs of aging.

The signs of getting old

Do you remember the first time you saw gray hair? Or when you looked in the mirror and found you had wrinkles around your eyes or cellulite on your hips? Men may be more concerned about the tires adding to their stomachs or not being able to get through their nights as well as they used to. The signs of change are everywhere; in fact, they don’t stop at our bodies. We see that our buildings age, our clothes go out of style or more and more houses are built where there used to be nature. Change is the only constant in our lives.

How do you handle those changes? What are you saying about changes in your own body? What do you feel about the changes in nature and our environment?

Mortality

I recently had a client who asked me how and when to tell her children that their grandmother was going to die soon. She was concerned about the age of her children, how they would cope with the pain of the family around them, and how they would process their own sadness. Are children too young, innocent, or sensitive to be exposed to the emotional reaction of losing a loved one?

Mortality and the sadness that accompanies death can be experienced with the loss of an animal, family member or for example through what is shown on television. It is important to remember that children can react with extreme behaviors and reactions, just like adults. One moment they seem fine or even disinterested, and the next they may be totally reactive and need attention when complaining of minor illnesses like headaches or stomachaches.

Lost

Even with the loss of my favorite bag when I was about 8 years old, it plunged me into deep sadness and I mourned for days. Looking at it from the perspective of an adult, it was not that important and yet, for a child, certain objects have much more sentimental value than we can consciously understand.

Loss is also experienced when dealing with the reduced or changed capabilities of our body. Another recent client was dealing with severe back pain and was no longer able to do the physical activities he loved, such as jogging and dancing. On top of that, she ‘tortured’ herself (inside her head) with the fact that she wanted to do those things but couldn’t. What changed for her was the question: “Think: what is possible and realistic to do right now?” Allow the part of you that yearns to do those things that currently can’t express its disappointment, but don’t let that be all you’re thinking about.