Have you ever been a victim of Ageism?
Has the society or people around you ever deemed it necessary to tell you what you can or cannot do as per your age? How do you react?
I am a frequent victim of ageism. I was born with a hereditary bone disease, which affected my bone development from a young age. One favor that this disease seem to had done me is that it has kept my appearance young. There are times when I wondered whether I would look as I do when I die – this old person with the face of a teenager.
To most people, I still look like when I was a teenager on the outside, with the exception of a few lines at the corner of my eyes and dark spots from sun exposure. Inside, I feel like a 50-year-old with an achey back and neck, missing teeth, and a body that’s struggling to behave.
Still, I often get comments from people like my co-workers and even my doctors saying I’m too young to have such problems. “You may think you have arthitis but it’s actually the environment causing symptoms mimicking arthiritis.” That was what my rhumatologist said the last time I saw him when I told him of my aches and pains, triggered by the wet weather. I asked him about my abnormally high rhumatoid factor and he said those symptoms don’t usually show up until after 50. If that’s not ageism, I don’t know what is.
I think the reason for the ageism is because these people are older than me. I wonder if I told someone younger than me the same complaints, would he/she react the same way? 🤔
This is Another Story 
I am now at the age where my kids are encouraging me to slow down because they are afraid I will have a heart attack.
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🤔 I would say it depends on the age and condition of the person, then. Sometimes, I wish someone would tell me to slow down or rather help me slow down.
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Well to be honest slowing down is not really a possibility. They may say they want me to do it, but they have no intention yet of stepping into what I am doing nor does anyone else and I am not ready to just let those things I am doing go. So we are at an impasse where words do not meet action.
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I agree, slowing down isn’t really an option when no one is willing to step into my shoes and do my tasks. Like right now, I’m told to slow down and not care about the garden but if I don’t take care of it, weeds will start crawling all over the rock garden and no one other than me is willing to clean that up. So it’s not really a possibility.
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I had the same problem with my garden and I just didn’t have the time or space for it. I ended up having to let it go for a period of seven years. This year I am starting again, a little bit everyday. Time has been freed up a little.
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I’ve spent the last few years automating the garden and pretty much done it this year. So it freed up my time for other projects.
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That’s awesome!
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Thanks for sharing this idea Anita
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It’s frustrating to get a respond like that from a doctor. He/she is obviously unprofessional. I live with a chronic illness too, so I know how it’s like. It’s limiting and frustrating, but it is how it is, whether we like it or not.
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Chronic illness is absolutely limiting and it’s frustrating that medical professionals would behave in such behavior. It’s the reason I’m hesitant to see the doctor until something big comes up.
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That’s just terrible. Don’t know what else to say.
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I think that this attitude from health care professionals is not acceptable. They should be treating the symptoms and not the age. Thanks for sharing Yinglan
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I know, right? Doctors should not be so assuming and bias. The patient’s age should not be taken account to his/her age.
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Exactly. 👍🏼
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