Expressing a positive attitude toward aging may make the difference in whether you can bounce back from disability. A study from the Yale School of Public Health found that seniors who accentuate the positive stereotypes of age and aging are more likely to recover from a health setback than those who view aging negatively.
Over the course of 11 years, the investigators asked nearly 600 seniors who were living independently what five words came to their minds when asked what they think of old persons. The most positive responses were descriptors like “spry” while the most negative were terms such as “decrepit.”
The investigators reported that seniors referencing positive age stereotypes were 44 percent more likely to fully recover from a severe disability. These seniors also had a slower decline in daily activities such as bathing and dressing than those who voiced negative stereotypes.
