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People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
CuriositiesAUG 5, 2024

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them

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Getting older comes with a whole host of challenges and changes that almost matches puberty in a way. But the truth is that many of us don’t really accept that we are aging until it’s staring us right in the face.
A netizen asked “What was the biggest change to getting older that was the hardest to accept?” and older folks shared their best stories. We also got in touch with the person who started the viral thread. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts below.

#1

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
No matter how I work at it - eating right, exercising, etc. - my body can't keep up with my brain anymore. One damn thing or another is always on the fritz. Back feels great, finallllllyyyyy???? F**k you, says my right knee, try this on for size! (collapses)

Good times!
122points

#2

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
I'm not in vain, but I think it's incredibly difficult to lose your looks. Going from young vibrant looking to old and haggard. visually, you can see you're getting old, even though you don't feel old inside.
111points

#3

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Weight gain that I can’t lose no matter what I do.
106points

#4

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
A few things come to mind. Lack of stamina. Good grief. I have been active for all my life, but now, even the simple gym routine wears me out. It bothers me each day that physical tasks take longer, I often ache afterwards, and the thought of breaking down bit by bit scares the stuffing out of me.

My never having been beautiful physically, you would think that not being noticed wouldn't bother me. It does. Getting the aid of a store clerk has become task. I find myself having to force myself on people. That's annoying.
The forgetting of names, proper nouns when I know those are words are somewhere in my brain just aggravates the stew out of me. Where did those words go? Hours later I will be loading the dishwaher and, damn, the name or book title will pop in head as though the brain kept searching for it long after I forgot I needed the name earlier. What's up with that?

Getting shorter. Freaking gravity. I was never tall and now I know that centimeter by centimeter I get closer to the ground. Argh.

Arthritis. All the activity, wear and tear on my joints as a young adult has come to haunt me. I have spent the last seven years doing resistance weight training to strengthen the muscles around the achy joints. Thank goodness I did, but nothing has helped stop the stiffening of joints.

Not being needed on some level. I spent so much time taking care of growing children, making professional decisions in my work life, coming up with solutions to make systems better and now I often feel hollow, useless. I want to know that I can help not just be a token.

Another sad thing concerns my decreasing lack of patience. I can no longer suffer the insufferable and wanton ignorance around me. I must walk away. Civil discourse disappears when grown a*s adults believe and repeat lies and conspiracies. That's not a debate, it's chaos. There's no deference to the expertise in our world. Retired insurance salespeople are not experts on geopolitics or macroeconomics. They just aren't. Ugh. For goodness sake, just shut up.

I must be cranky this morning. So I will shut up now.
100points

#5

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Having to let go of a dream or goal that will never be achieved. 😢.
97points

#6

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Decrease in stamina; why is everything so tiring now?
92points

#7

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
I have noticed a change in my short-term memory over the past several months and it's concerning me.
91points

#8

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Crepe skins and loss of muscle.
90points

#9

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Vision. Letters are too small on so many things. Glasses on. Glasses off. Where are my glasses? Bifocals.
86points

#10

I’ve always had a cat (or two). After my previous boy passed, I went and adopted a bonded pair, because I’m getting *two* out of the shelter, right? But after a couple of years I came to realize that- if they stay healthy, they could easily outlive me and my husband (we are both 70). And then what happens? Everybody says, “Oh, provide for them in your will! Get a commitment from a friend or family member who can take them!”. What if you don’t have anyone who can take them?


Maybe we’ll be lucky and outlive them. Maybe my daughter halfway across the country (who currently has a cranky cat and two very energetic dogs) will have an opening. Maybe a cat-loving neighbor will still be living nearby. Maybe. 🥺🥺🥺 I worry about it.
84points

#11

Going on Reddit and reading all the hate for Boomers. Apparently we are one giant evil monolithic hive-mind because we were born between 1946-1964. That’s all it took, just being born at a specific time. We’re like the Borg.

On the other hand, all the other generations consist of millions of individuals with different personalities and political viewpoints and different and individual hopes, dreams, hobbies, and interests.
79points

#12

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Becoming invisible. No one tells you and then it’s too late.
77points

#13

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
I used to have so much discipline. I could keep my weight down, exercise 7 times a week, keep my home organized, etc. Now I just want to eat gummies, Doritos and hang out here.
77points

#14

Menopause... and all the s**t no one warned me about. Like losing your sex drive. ( which I've fortunately gotten back, somewhat).... or aging 10 yrs in 6 months. Waking up one morning to find I have NO eyebrows.... you know, s**t like that!
76points

#15

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
Realizing that the end is no longer over the horizon; it is the horizon.
75points

#16

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
That events/cultural references that you remember vividly are a lot older than you think, and in many cases, younger folks will have no idea what you are talking about.
74points

#17

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
I’ve been a personal trainer, marathoner, martial arts instructor, yoga teacher, …… since I was about 22. I’m 57. In my youthful, delusional mind, I truly thought I would be 80 before I started slowing down. Aging is humbling. We can exercise, eat right, and avoid most of the bad stuff. But, accidents happen. Genetics happen. Illness happens. I’m still very grateful that I have stayed fit and healthy through the years. But I was so sure I would be a marathon running grandma. Aging has checked my ego in a big way.
68points

#18

Not knowing who some “famous” people are. I look at the cover of People magazine when checking out at the supermarket and half the time don’t know who the people they are crowing about are, lol.
68points

#19

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them
When you are younger it feels like you have all the time in the world to do things. I am now coming to terms with the fact that “someday” is a lot smaller of a window.
66points

#20

Damned QR Codes for literally everything.
66points
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