Is growing older a positive or negative experience for you? According to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, having a positive attitude toward ageing may aid in your recovery from a health setback. A Connecticut health plan provided 598 patients (mostly women) for the study. Over the course of ten years, participants were interviewed once a month and completed home-based assessments. The words individuals chose to describe growing older were utilized to assess their age preconceptions (ranging from positive terms like "spry," to negative terms such as "decrepit"). People with a positive attitude about aging were 44 per cent more likely than those with a negative attitude to recover from handicap. They were also better at going about their everyday routines. More research is needed to see if initiatives aimed at changing people's views about aging might help older people live more independently.
