The getting old curse – How are you dealing with it?

[Odysseus123]

24 minutes ago, luckyluke said:

Sure, but I never planned my life in function of what bad may happen, won't change now because of my age.

 

When it will occur, time to take the necessary decision one have to take at that very moment and according to the than circumstances.

 

This include the possibility of a " final decision ".

 

Just hoping I will physically be able to take the decision.

 

 

 

 

 

Best of luck to you.

 

Perhaps your "planning function" might be a wee bit different in the future.

[Puchaiyank]

I live every day as if I will live forever...I'm blessed to be in relatively good health at 74...still active and functional...more relaxed now about the opposite sex...only reading about Thai immigration's harrassment of expats cause my blood pressure to spike...

 

Life is good...enjoy every moment!   ????????

[Sujo]

Im ‘only’ 56. But i look older and my body feels old.

 

I go out drinking with younger friends, they tease me, i play up to it, then take home a young filly.

 

i do think of old times and how I have deteriorated but what the hell, try not to dwell on it. Remember childhood and younger days and be happy you had a good life.

 

The younger ones think they always know best anyway, as I did. Im just glad i never had kids to bring into a life the way the world is going.

[luckyluke]

7 minutes ago, Odysseus123 said:

Perhaps your "planning function" might be a wee bit different in the future.

Something one can not forget easely, as there are always people who apparently like to remember it to you.

 

For some, people from a certain age should just wait death 

 

I am enjoying myself as much as possible, always did. (different desiderata in function of the age), as things will certainly go less good, if not bad, in a non definable future. 

 

 

[Odysseus123]

1 minute ago, luckyluke said:

Something one can not forget easely, as there are always people who apparently like to remember it to you.

 

For some, people from a certain age should just wait death 

 

I am enjoying myself as much as possible, always did. (different desiderata in function of the age), as things will certainly go less good, if not bad, in a non definable future. 

 

 

Enjoy..my friend...and no..as I do not know you I have not the slightest interest in "remembering" it for you-and that goes for every "farang" that I ever met in Thailand.

[rumak]

1 hour ago, faraday said:

attempt to accept the inevitable.

An honest answer. Above all i value honesty.   I think dealing with health issues is a real challenge.  Being positive is great and easy as long as all is going well.   Amazing how it is always so easy to "comfort" someone else who is not well.  "keep your head up.   Su SU.   Hang in there.  You'll be better in no time .  "

And can anyone here remember when the sick one was YOU ?   Not quite as easy to put on a cheery face when that happens.  For each individual there are different degrees of success.

All the advice is great.  Reality is not always that easy.  The honest answer for me is I do the best I can to

stay healthy and keep busy..... but  one nice thing  I have accepted is that my Steve McQueen days are past and I am trying to adjust to life in my little pueblo.  

 

[worgeordie]

Well I am already passed my  3 score and 10,so everyday is a blessing,

wake up in the morning wiggle my toes,sun is shining,still here,good.

 

My body might be getting older,cannot do the things I did when I was

say 21, but my mind in still young,take one day at a time and be thankful,

no good having negative thoughts,I have done just about everything I

wanted to in my life,so far have enjoyed every minute,and hope that

there are many more,as i still have stuff to do.

regards worgeordie

[Odysseus123]

Well done.An honest post.

 

Worth it's weight in gold.

2 minutes ago, rumak said:

An honest answer. Above all i value honesty.   I think dealing with health issues is a real challenge.  Being positive is great and easy as long as all is going well.   Amazing how it is always so easy to "comfort" someone else who is not well.  "keep your head up.   Su SU.   Hang in there.  You'll be better in no time .  "

And can anyone here remember when the sick one was YOU ?   Not quite as easy to put on a cheery face when that happens.  For each individual there are different degrees of success.

All the advice is great.  Reality is not always that easy.  The honest answer for me is I do the best I can to

stay healthy and keep busy..... but  one nice thing  I have accepted is that my Steve McQueen days are past and I am trying to adjust to life in my little pueblo.  

 

 

[ivor bigun]

Its a shame but for some people
"Life is hard then you die"

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[Kwasaki]

2 hours ago, tomgreen said:

I've recently had my 70th birthday and I’m surrounded by a loving family and in general good health and although I seem to get easily get stressed out

I'm 72 and carry on like 52 but there are some limitations, I have my hobbies just the same and enjoy them still.

[bwpage3]

We are coming back to Thailand in December to celebrate my wife's grandfather's 100th Birthday.

 

He still wakes up every morning and putters around the farm keeping himself busy, mind is pretty sharp and seems to be doing fine.

 

First off, imagine living to be 100 in Thailand as an expat?

 

However, the OP brings up a good point about old age.

 

Certainly everyone is different and reaches a point in there life where everything goes downhill.

 

The sooner in life you recognize diet and exercise will keep your going stronger, longer, the better your older years will be.

 

Once you own up to the fact you are getting old, you need to have self-discipline to take care of yourself; if you want to live longer.

 

I am not even retirement age, and I am encumbered from time to time of the OP's concerns.

 

This is mainly do to the fact that I have restructured my whole financial being to ensure my family is 100% taken care of when I pass.

 

It is my choice, it is what I want to do for them.

 

There are constant reminders with life insurance, increased savings, etc. etc. I wouldn't be thinking about if I was just winging it through life and didn't care what happens to them.

 

It means working years past when I thought I would be working, however, I do it with a comfort in mind that there will be no financial difficulties after I am gone.

 

I could have stuck around Thailand after living there for 10+ years, but that is not the choice I wanted to make

 

I made the choice to jump back into the corporate rat-race for my families future and I am just fine with it.

 

With medical insurance and medicare etc. as I get older, that shouldn't be too much of a burden.

 

I think about the days when 75 approaches, I will certainly have attained all goals planned and if I am in reasonable health, what next?

 

No one can predict what Thailand will be like in 20 years from now, do not even want to guess.

 

We will all get old, it is good to have some goals and a plan to keep your mind busy.

 

I have a real peace about me, knowing I have planned for my families future and they will be able to carry on with the same quality of life.

 

That's not to say with aren't living now, because we are!

[Denim]

Even the most ardent football fan probably loses interest in how his club will finish when he is on his death bed. 

 

You are like the lead in a pencil that life is ceaselessly sharpening until one day you are face to face with the rubber at the end.

 

Its all gone and it went so soon.

When you were a child you wanted to be older but now things have got out of hand and you can't put the brakes on.

 

Religous people embrace faith fervently in the belief there is an afterlife and whatever happens to their body their essence will be immortal. But the next life is unsubstantiated making their faith a necessity rather than a luxury. Something they cling to because the alternative is unthinkable.

 

Before you were born where were you. What did you think. What did you enjoy or suffer.

 

It will be like that again . That is all.

 

Look at your life . Is there anything you feel grateful for. Look at the fate of others less fortunate.

 

If you are feeling depressed that you will soon be giving it all up and that everything now seems pointless and dull it is because you are now facing the reality that absolutely everything is transient and temporal.

 

Look it in the eye. Realize it. Then just go about your business and put it out of your mind. If you have kind things to say to anyone say them now while you can . Put your affairs in order for the sake of those you love then live out your life taking each day as it comes and trying to see the best in things.

[Michaelaway]

Three men were discussing aging on the steps of the nursing home.

"Sixty is the worst age to be," announced the 60 year old. "You always feel like you have to pee. And most of the time, you stand at the toilet and nothing comes out!"

"Ah, that's nothing," said the 70 year old. "When you're 70, you can't poop anymore. You take laxatives, eat bran - you sit on the toilet for hours and nothing happens!"

"Actually," said the eighty year old, "Eighty is the worst age of all."
"Have a lot of trouble peeing too, right?" asked the sixty year old.
"Nope. I pee like a racehorse every morning at six; no problem."

"Ah, so pooping is the big problem, right?" asked the 70 year old.
"Not really. Most mornings, I have a great bowel movement around 6:30."

With great exasperation, the 60 year old said, "Let me get this straight. You pee every morning at six o'clock and take a <deleted> every morning at six thirty. What's so tough about being eighty?"

To which the eighty year old replied, "I usually don't wake up until seven.”

[steven100]

5 pages on getting old and dying ….. 

What a morbid lot we are ….

[Artisi]

2 hours ago, NCC1701A said:

i stay with people who have a younger mind set. i had to tell a lifelong friend to stop with the old folks jokes because they don't apply to me.

 

i am 64 and go dancing in clubs in Bangkok and all my girlfriends are half my age and that really helps. 

 

motorcycle trip all over Thailand coming up oct, nov dec.

 

if you don't like my illusion or delusion please keep it to yourself.

 

Don't forget all your TM 28's and TM 30's along the way ????

[stereolab]

29 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

I'm 72 and carry on like 52 but there are some limitations, I have my hobbies just the same and enjoy them still.

I will be 66 next week, all this weekend I looked after our 4 year old niece, running around the garden out at the weekly market playground. Tomorrow morning 0800 hours will go cut grass for 2 hours, late afternoon another 2 hours grass cutting. Next week after our gardens and farm are up to scratch I can get back out on my bicycle. It helps that I am teetotal and a non-smoker. I do however love KitKats.

[Artisi]

I just turned 78 and have a 10

year old son, no time to dwell on negatives as he keeps me constantly on my toes. 

[Lacessit]

Perhaps this will help......

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aueLMVzcbMY

[Lacessit]

Personally, I get very <deleted> off with the hoops we are made to jump through here and in our countries of origin.

We are in old age. We've paid our dues. All we want is to be left alone to enjoy what's left.

[Mansell]

I am 75 and it pretty good health. My wife is 43, and her two boys are 9 and 13. Now all three can either stimulate you or kill you sooner.....I opt for the longer life because I am extremely happy.

I also believe that you can live as long as you choose. I have known many folks who's partner died and pretty much gave up and were gone quickly......that is what they choose. I am planning on living until I'm 90 as I really have no desire to live much past that.

i have noticed as I have aged that I have become somewhat anxious and I have to consciously fight those type of feelings.

I recently read online that the first person to live to a 150 has already been born....scary....I hope it is not me.

Somebody said on here that when you are dead you don't know you are dead......are you sure?

A large percentage of the world believes in reincarnation including the country you are in now. I personally believe in this and have had experiences of past lives. When you have this knowledge inside of you death itself no longer holds any fears.....of course I don't want to die in agony in a car crash, no more than you do......but there isn't any fear because the moment of so called death is just a transition into another realm. You were not scared before you were born, so why should you be scared by dying?

If you have been a nasty evil <deleted>, then I would have some fear because it isn't going to be a picnic for you. Otherwise just relax and enjoy the process. I was told once by a very wise man, "Earth is a vacation from the Soul Realm." Obviously not for everybody, but for many of us who have had a very good life. Enjoy the vacation.

[bannork]

The previous poster said, Before you were born where were you? What did you think. What did you enjoy or suffer. It will be like that again . That is all.

Of course, like everyone, he has no idea of what we were before this life or will be after. We have no recollections of anything prior to this life for here we are bound by time and space. Those are our limitations. We could have been having a party before we were born for all he knows, getting ready for our time on earth. I suspect Jimi Hendrix was tuning up at the end of WW2,  preparing to enter the world to offer a new dimension to the drab 1950s.

 As our time nears its end, we are terrified on two counts: we don't know where we are going, and at the same time we see our own physical deterioration.

For the former I recommend Buddhism, energy changes form, it cannot die. Today you are a human, in the next life you may be a tree. That's not too bad if you live in a National Park, plenty of friends.

For the second, physical deterioration -mixing with young people is wonderful, especially grandchildren, a child aged two and its natural curiosity is a delight to see, and for older kids, they may be pleased to have someone older help with the homework and offer advice.

But it's also good to be close to a friend from your youth. someone who is going through the same thing, someone with shared memories from days gone past. But not everybody is lucky enough to have someone like this.

But then there is always the music, preserved on the internet, frozen in time, reminding us of passionate days gone by. Thank God for rock music. the 60s and early 70s were wonderful. What a time to be young.

Stand up in respect, and rock till you drop.

Jeez, the Stones are still going at 75!

 

[simon43]

Tom, I'm somewhat younger than you, reaching 60 years old earlier this year.  Over the past 10 years or so, most (yes most!) of my western friends in Phuket (where I used to live) have all died.  Some were younger than me, some were a little older.  They all died as a direct result of their own actions, or as the tragic result of other drunk drivers.

 

Several died from alcoholism, others from diabetes due to a poor diet, others killed themselves and several were 'taken out' by drunk car drivers hitting them as they rode motorbikes.

 

Before I hit 60 years old, I promised myself that far from looking at the downward path, I would do what was possible to go in the other direction!

 

I changed my diet to a healthy fruit and veg diet, started going to the gym regularly, started jogging every morning before work, attended annual health checks to monitor my heart and choresterol etc levels.  

 

After blood tests, I started a course of testosterone treatment, and now self-inject twice-weekly.

The result of all this:

I feel great!  I jog 5 Km every morning.  My resting heart-rate is about 50 bpm, (under 40 at night), my blood pressure is akin to a 20 year old, my sex-drive and ability to 'get it up' is excellent for my age.  I feel positive every day and 'spit death in the face'!!

 

When death finally comes, I hope/expect it to be dropping dead quickly when I'm jogging.  I'd be pretty p*ssed if I develop some long term chronic illness.....

 

So my advice is - ignore all the advice about slowing down and taking it easy because you're 'old'.  Do the opposite and live life to the full.

[elliss]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

Problem is, the older you get the less motivated you become, and possible physical limitations prevent you doing those things as well.

 

  The older we get , physical and mental limitations , are natural,  and yes we expats understand and except this.

  The problem is , how will our younger thai partners , cope with ageing farlang,  we are not really family,  just providers .

   OK  , laugh it off , hope i die on the job , or in my sleep,   with knife wounds etc. .555   

  Plan B  essential ,  prepare for the inevitable... 

     

Edited September 15, 2019 by elliss

[wisperone]

4 hours ago, giddyup said:

Doing what every 10 minutes or so? Not making a lot of sense here.

Fantasies maybe.

[wisperone]

3 hours ago, Odysseus123 said:

Don't get a DVT-not unusual in flying as it will ruin your entire day.

I always take a full size aspirin before getting on the plane to thin the blood. If doing one of the 30+ hour flites, will take another or half before getting on the next leg of the journey. 

[wisperone]

2 hours ago, Sujo said:

Im ‘only’ 56. But i look older and my body feels old.

 

I go out drinking with younger friends, they tease me, i play up to it, then take home a young filly.

Maybe stop drinking. If they keep it up, they will look much older at your age also.  Alcohol isn't kind on the body.

[daveAustin]

Realise that you are in one of the best places on the chillout scale - imagine yourself with no money and ill health in the west! Having said that, one can still be isolated among family. Trust you are meeting friends regularly? 

 

Sometimes wish I was older and retired - having perhaps grown up in 50s America with them big cars and easy going dames. At the end of the day, we're all doomed.

 

Try some of these:

 

Don't take life seriously; it's all bollllox

Travel more

Watch your carbs (esp sugar)

More water (with sea salt)

Eat loads of cow

Meet new folk

Do stuff different everyday

Exercise
Fast

Deep breathing

Read Tolkien

Listen to Floyd

Edited September 15, 2019 by daveAustin

[yogi100]

10 hours ago, PatOngo said:

Some herbal relaxation medicine may be the answer!

 

What about if you've packed up smoking! Having a puff of weed might get you back on the fags again.

 

It took me nearly 6 months to pack up and that was with the help of Champix. I really swear by Champix tablets, I'd never have quit without them.

[jastheace]

@tomgreen

my advice, TVF easily can raise the BP. stay off it

[yogi100]

9 hours ago, Sujo said:

Im ‘only’ 56. But i look older and my body feels old.

 

I go out drinking with younger friends, they tease me, i play up to it, then take home a young filly.

 

i do think of old times and how I have deteriorated but what the hell, try not to dwell on it. Remember childhood and younger days and be happy you had a good life.

 

The younger ones think they always know best anyway, as I did. Im just glad i never had kids to bring into a life the way the world is going.

You're only a boy yet.