Turning 30…40…50…

Oh, those milestone birthdays!

How to Cope

Whichever milestone birthday you face, you’ll weather it better if you:

Explore your assumptions and change any distorted thinking about what it means to be a particular age.

Take charge of your body. Maintain a healthy weight, stay active, get enough sleep, learn to manage stress.

Live in the present. Try to focus on what you have right now rather than mourning what’s gone or fretting about the future.

When we’re children, we can’t wait to grow up. Too bad the feeling doesn’t last. By age 40 or 50, a “big” birthday is something most of us dread. Partly, that’s because of our youth-worshiping culture, says clinical social worker Pat Gordy of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “Just look at all the products that will ‘make you look 10 years younger,’ ” she says. But there are plenty of other reasons why milestone birthdays can be stressful—from family issues to health worries to unmet life goals. Gordy and family medicine physician Pamela LeDeaux, M.D., explore the issues.

30

At this age you’re still in the prime of youth, but you face big, scary questions: Have I found the right job? Do I like where I’m living? How well am I balancing work and social life? Shouldn’t I be married by now?

40

Welcome to the “midlife crisis.” As your body starts to show its age, you realize that if you want children or a new career, you’d better get busy. “At this stage, people start thinking about self-renewal and life enrichment,” Gordy says. They also start taking their health seriously for the first time. “It’s not just about getting a physical,” LeDeaux says. “Wellness means taking care of yourself.”

50

Even if you still feel vibrant, at 50 you can’t pretend you’re young anymore. Menopause, job insecurity, college costs and the needs of elderly parents are major concerns. On the plus side is the opportunity to explore new facets of your life; many 50- something women shift focus from caregiving to career, and men from work to relationships. Physically, poor health habits begin to take a toll. “But it’s never too late to stop smoking, lose weight or make other healthy changes,” LeDeaux says.

60

Retirement looms large now. While many of LeDeaux’s patients have a healthy selfimage in their 60s, “they do have concerns about financial security, life as a retiree and how to move gracefully toward this thing called old age.”

Want to Know More? For a reading list on coping with milestone ages or a chart of the health screenings you need at each stage of life, call 610-402-CARE or click here.

Published from Healthy You Magazine, September-October 2007

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