{"id":1570,"date":"2023-06-19T00:42:48","date_gmt":"2023-06-19T00:42:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/?p=1570"},"modified":"2023-06-23T00:58:31","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T00:58:31","slug":"what-can-i-do-about-ageism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/?p=1570","title":{"rendered":"What Can I Do about Ageism?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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NOT in the slow lane, YET <\/span><\/p>\n

The blog is about living life after 70 with joy, resilience, and purpose. NOT in the slow lane, YET is a source of positive, helpful advice encouraging people to set and achieve goals  <\/span>and find joy in life. The blog will cover personal experiences and thoughts and concerns. Topics of blogs will include health, retirement, fashion, travel, and  <\/span>living in continuing care retirement communities. The blogs will be short and appear at least once a month on my website www.nadineblock.com or by email if you choose.<\/p>\n

Last month I wrote about the effects of ageism, a term defined as  <\/span>prejudice or  <\/span>discrimination on grounds of a person\u2019s age.   <\/span>What five words come to mind when you think of older people? Do you think they are  <\/span>calm, contemplative, and wise,  <\/span>or do you think they are slow, stubborn, and out of touch?  <\/span>I list some of mine in this blog. <\/span><\/p>\n

What can I do about Ageism?<\/b><\/p>\n

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Collage of Good Stereotypes of older Persons: Block<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I started by looking in the mirror and checking my own stereotypes of aging.    <\/span>I blamed old age for forgetting a name or misplacing my cell phone.  <\/span>I thought most old people have short attention spans. I laughed at cartoons about aging. Yes, I used words like \u201cold hag,\u201d \u201cOver-the-Hill,\u201d and \u201cOld Fogey\u201d describing older people.  <\/span>Just this week I said, \u201cYou can teach an old dog a new trick, but it takes a long  <\/span>time.\u201d  <\/span>I have not taken a 180-degree turn, but I am more aware of my own negative perceptions. Once we are aware of them,  <\/span>we can challenge our thinking.  <\/span>I went through my blogs and removed ageism\u2019s. There may still be some there.<\/p>\n

We should not be too hard on ourselves.   <\/span>We started learning stereotypes about older people  <\/span>before we went to school. Our beliefs about aging came from words and actions in our families and communities, advertising,  <\/span>movies, social media, and books.  <\/span>We learned them.  <\/span>We need to unlearn them. <\/span><\/p>\n

What can I do to unlearn ageism?<\/b><\/p>\n

When I catch myself using an ageism stereotype,  <\/span>I sometimes self-talk an alternative statement.   <\/span>\u201cOld people have attention spans of fleas \u201c could be changed to \u201cSome older people have attention span problems.\u201d   <\/span>I can make a verbal correction as a response to my own words. I can talk about ageism with friends to solidify my attempts to correct my own perceptions and I can help raise awareness for others.  <\/span><\/p>\n

What can I do when I am challenged by ageist remarks?<\/b><\/p>\n

Now that I am more aware of ageism, I find it in medical care, in social events, and  <\/span>in  <\/span>family relationships.  <\/span>What can I do when someone seems  <\/span>prejudiced against me because of ageism?<\/p>\n

I could react like my mother who told a medical worker,  <\/span>\u201cYou can\u2019t treat me that way just because I am old.\u201d She got their attention. She lived to be 101 so she had more chances to correct medical workers.  <\/span>My brother called a doctor who was caring for our mother to inquire about how she developed MRSA after a shoulder operation.  <\/span>He said, \u201cMaybe her shoulder skin wasn\u2019t clean.\u201d  <\/span>My brother was incensed!  <\/span>\u201cThat\u2019s your job,\u201d  <\/span>he said.<\/p>\n

It is nice to have a family advocate but that is not always available.  <\/span>If you feel you are being belittled, ignored or the subject of condescension or rudeness, you have a right to respond.  <\/span>You must be your own advocate.<\/p>\n

There are other ways to react to being stereotyped as old and less entitled to respect.  <\/span>I might  <\/span>say, \u201cTell me more. What do you mean?\u201d   <\/span>I listen to what the person says.  <\/span>I  <\/span>may be satisfied with their answer, but I remind myself not to back down if their answer is still demeaning.  <\/span>I can tell them how it feels to hear their words, like my mom did but, in a less stinging way.  <\/span><\/p>\n

What can I do to push back on ageism in our culture? <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Educate myself about ageism:  <\/span>Read articles and books and talk to people who are knowledgeable.  <\/span>We should be proud of being life-long learners.  <\/span>People who keep learning and evolving stay young. <\/span><\/p>\n

Prevent it in the first place:   <\/span>Start talking to children in the family  <\/span>about positive age beliefs  <\/span>and support  <\/span>teaching positive age beliefs  <\/span>in school.<\/p>\n

Support programs that provide older people with experiences like tutoring, mentoring, and volunteering in schools and other community organizations:<\/p>\n

 <\/span>They give a positive image of older people  <\/span>and  <\/span>a  <\/span>reward that comes from helping others.<\/p>\n

 <\/span>Support giving opportunities to older people  <\/span>to take classes with college students to learn about young people, stay active and learn new things. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/span>Travel with younger people to explore unfamiliar places and cultures: You can see it from their perspective and your own.<\/p>\n

Seek out interage experiences: Such experiences provide opportunities for us to learn new things and make new friends.  <\/span>Younger people can understand that we are all different and develop empathy for older people.   <\/span>A friend and I went to an art event. We dressed in cocktail clothes. Most of the attendees were young creatives who came in elaborate costumes.  <\/span>What fun that was.  <\/span>We sat with a young couturier and her friend. The conversation was exciting.  <\/span>Next year I will put together a costume for the event.<\/p>\n

Post positive quotes about older people in our communities to counteract negative stereotypes:<\/p>\n

  <\/span>Examples:  <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYouth can walk faster but the elder knows the road.\u201d African proverb.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art.\u201d   <\/span>Eleanor Roosevelt<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.\u201d   <\/span>C.S. Lewis<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional.\u201d  <\/span>Carroll Bryant<\/p>\n

Help Build a Better Society<\/b><\/p>\n

If you observe ageist behaviors and speech, speak up. Let them know such behavior is unacceptable.  <\/span>Continue to educate yourself and others. Support  <\/span>programs that provide  <\/span>workplace environment improvements, social opportunities, and medical care for older people.    <\/span>People with positive stereotypes of living appear to live longer and be happier. Supporting positive perceptions of older people helps create a kinder and more respectful society for all people.   <\/span><\/p>\n

Do you want to know more?<\/b><\/p>\n

This study indicates people with positive perceptions of aging live longer.<\/a><\/p>\n

Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging.<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NOT in the slow lane, YET  The blog is about living life after 70 with joy, resilience, and purpose. NOT in the slow lane, YET is a source of positive, helpful advice encouraging people to set and achieve goals  and find joy in life. The blog will cover personal experiences and thoughts and concerns. Topics […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"bgseo_title":"","bgseo_description":"","bgseo_robots_index":"index","bgseo_robots_follow":"follow","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1570"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1578,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1570\/revisions\/1578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/notintheslowlaneyet.nadineblock.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}