Does anyone feel old and useless with age?

Nobody Has to ... much discovery and invention that we enjoy today from plentiful food to controlled pleasant living/working/playing spaces are Not by people wanting to be or feel useful, it happened bc we are curious beings. Ever notice a toddler? They are Explores in every possible way. They find things and places solutions bc we LIKE to. If we did not have this capacity we'd fester on our backs in cribs.

Also we dig what WE like; each of us has a different direction that we like -- from travel to figuring how injuries heal and what music is and a thousand more. This diversity of interests make life more interesting ... without someone having to assign what one Should. Of course there are constraints; we live in a world that has its 'laws' but still it seems nature did a top notch job of making us. It turns out in the process of each following his/her most interest we also become 'useful' by you giving us a Taylor Swift and he an Einstein.

I certainly would like to find a bunch of people whom I could talk about the challenges we have -- with some laughs and marveling on their insights.

Here's a picture that was in an NYTimes article on wellness. Enjoy the title 'Hang Out'
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/09/well/live/hanging-out-adult-friendships.html

I asked a friend who lives in Tucson.

Her reply:

TMC for seniors at Palo Verde Campus 2695 North Craycroft Road.
They have several classes & events every month. It's located on the campus of Tucson Medical Center
520-324-1960
Seniorservices@tmcaz.com

This may be true for you.

Thank you, Gingerer, for information.
i will go to the center near me to find more.

Dinkar Gangwal

The best way to overcome this is with giving of yourself to others less fortunate. Hospital volunteer or outreach that cooks for homeless or church work , teaching Sunday school, volunteering to read to the elderly or chat w them …..the list of giving that you CAN do is endless…..you are only looking at your negatives…..look at your positives….what can you still do ?……..being useful is the only way of living. The only answer!!

Perhaps the rusted just needs polishing. 😉

The issue of growing older is a very debatable subject…I have been thinking a lot about this and I came to the conclusion that it’s very different for everyone, so many things play into this stage of our lives. In older days when I was a youngster we always had family and friends around, if a family member was ill or they lost their job, everyone automatically helped them out. As for seniors, they didn’t go into a home but rather they moved in with their children. It was always the way things were done and everyone got lots of love and attention. In the world we live in today it goes without saying is so very changed and in some ways it’s better but not when it comes to family. As seniors we probably feel it the most because we need so much more care and there’s the problem, young people want so much more and they are working long hours to try to stay on top of everything, they want more and more all the time. I think the first to be handled over to get help with were our children, we just didn’t have enough time and keep us with the rising cost of living. As women we were forced to leave the home and go to work, this is in my opinion when everything started to change. I’m curious how it will eventually work itself out, putting seniors in assisted living is more expensive like everything else and not many people can afford to do this, not to mention it’s so very sad that they have to live out their final days in a clinical environment, no thanks for all the years they invested in their families.

I can think of many other ways of living.😉

Absolutely. It seems with each passing day, I am less and less engaged with the world. It seems that I have become "invisible" overnight. I have to admit when I was in my 20's-30's I did not have much compassion with/for the geriatric population. With each trip to the doctor they seem to find new medical maladies which I secretly wish would be terminal; and thus put an end to my lackluster life. I hurt all of the time and my pain doctor is next to useless. He routinely espouses the latest CDC recommended guidance for pain control as if it is an edict from God himself.

You don’t realize the reality until old age creeps up on you. Getting old really sucks and the illnesses seem to pile up for some of us, especially with trauma causing anxiety and depression. Having no answers to illnesses and meds with side effects are frustrating. Therapy is helpful. Will be trying a more natural route. Hang in there!