Once we hit fifty, we’re officially past our prime and our bodies know it.
Muscles take longer to recover from injury or overuse. Illnesses take longer to shake. Our joints and teeth begin to show signs of wear. Depression can become an unwanted companion. Solid sleep becomes evasive. It can sometimes feel that our calendars are overrun with probing, prodding, and scanning appointments.
We are not imagining these seismic shifts. Statistics support our experiences.
Women over fifty are much more likely to face colon and breast cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and stroke. Despite the overwhelm that can result from our new reality, we are not without agency. There’s much we can—and much we shouldn’t—do.
As I write in Marriage in the Middle, “Unless we have a full blown health crisis, we may be lulled into thinking we can get away with sloppy or inconsistent self-care. The truth is, we can no longer afford to neglect our bodies.” So what does it look like to take care of ourselves in this time frame? The specifics will be unique for each of us but big picture, “self-care should mean creating life that’s enjoyable and sustainable for the long-haul.”
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