Subjective age: why does my body feel older than I am

Our bodies may appear older than we really are; this happens even to very young people. This happens for various reasons. We have collected the most common of them in this article.

5 reason your body feel older than you are

1. Physical and moral fatigue

When we are constantly tired, we can feel older than we are. A few years ago, it seemed to us that we had more energy to solve problems and carry out everyday tasks than we do now. When physical fatigue accumulates, the emotional state also changes: we become irritable, uncommunicative, grumbling.

In addition to physical fatigue, we can also experience moral fatigue. Because of it, interest in favorite things is lost, the desire to try something new and move forward. Because of this, it seems that we are approaching older age. You can cope with moral fatigue.

2. Change of interests and social status

Changing interests can make you feel like you’re older than you are. For example, you and your friends used to spend time in clubs more often, but then you cooled off to this.

This happens not because of age but because of the experience that we gain. We should not write off the refusal to party until the morning because we feel older. Most likely, the reason for this is your interest in other hobbies and activities that you find more rewarding, fun, or productive.

A change in social status can also make you feel older. For example, if you have a child first from a group of friends. This is due to new responsibilities and duties that your environment does not yet have.

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3. Fear of new and change

You may have noticed that people say that our age is a limitation for some kind of activity. Behind this lies the fear of change or new beginnings. Unfortunately, the more we say this, the older we feel.

For example, when we state that it is too late for us to learn English or try to play the guitar, we try to hide the fear of becoming a beginner in this matter. Especially if it is more often practiced from a young age or belongs to teenage hobbies.

We also feel older if we tend to think conservatively. It seems to us that innovation and change in life will inevitably end in failure. Unfortunately, this is one of the limiting thought patterns that make us feel fearful and hinder our personal development.

Fear of change and something new may appear due to social pressure or personal attitudes. But in fact, to do something new, you should ignore age. There are many examples of young people who are afraid to do something and older people who excel in a new endeavor. Therefore, to not feel older than you are, it is important to cope with the fear of the new and change.

4. Early adulthood

Not all of us had a long and carefree childhood. Many people face problems at a young age, so they feel older than their peers.

For example, when they start living separately from their parents early or earn money on their own. Most often, this happens when the care of the younger ones falls on the shoulders of older children. While their peers are playing in the yard and doing other things, these children are actively involved in caring for siblings, which is why they mature early.

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A traumatic childhood also plays an important role in how we feel about ourselves. If additional responsibility falls on our shoulders or we become witnesses of negative situations, then we grow up early.

5. Society pressure

The social attitudes we hear from others can cause us to feel that we are older than we are. For example, if relatives constantly remind you that many already have children at your age.

Also, this feeling appears when we are pointed to our age as a mark that interferes with our hobbies and lifestyle. Or in cases where we hear that we are wise beyond our years, mature, too serious for our age.

It is precise because of such stereotypes and comments of others who do not understand us for various reasons that we can be prone to introspection and an unpleasant “senile” feeling. Maturity, seriousness, wisdom, and similar characteristics have nothing to do with age. They directly depend on the experience, perception, knowledge, development of a person.