When people grow older, they experiencea number of serious changes in life, including retirement, loss of loved ones, physical ailments associated with aging. These changes invade their lives, causing stress and leading to depression. And it does not matter if we are touched by this kind of ourselves, or we, our young and full of energy, were pinched by our elderly parents. We must do everything possible to prevent depression in our everyday lives or in the lives of people who are dear to us. Happy aging is much more than being able to stay physically strong. It is the preservation of purposefulness and interest in life. Imagine, perhaps, an old age in joy! Of course, the components of healthy aging can be different for everyone, but the common factors will always be a good psycho-emotional state and the ability to cope with stress. After all, it's not a secret for anyone that a positive attitude and inner harmony are the guarantee of a happy existence at any age. Knowing the basic formulas of healthy aging, you can help yourself or your relatives live fully. 
Let us part with delusions and myths!
It is always difficult to combat any changes,no matter how old you are. For the elderly, the main problem is the huge number of changes that grow like a snowball. This is the loss of a career, health, friends, life partner and even their independence. Naturally, all this is experienced hard. But at any age it is the joys that can soften the severity of losses. Balance the sense of loss with positive components of life - this is the main precept of the "formula" of joyful old age and aging. What is the happy "autumn of life"? First of all, this is the continuation of physical and social activity and the ability to adapt to change. Unfortunately, for many, thoughts of old age bring anxiety and fear. "How will I take care of myself? What if I lose my husband? What will happen to me? "- it is these sad reflections that almost always disturb the elderly. However, many of these fears are associated with common misconceptions about aging, which are often too exaggerated or simply untrue. The truth is that you are much stronger and more viable than you think. Let's try the myths about how old age is weak, debunked by concrete facts - we will prove that it can be happy. Elderly means poor health, often even disability. This is not necessary. Of course, there are some diseases that are more common in the declining years. However, old age does not mean that you automatically become decrepit or forced to change into a wheelchair. Many elderly people continue to maintain excellent health. Preventive measures such as proper nutrition, exercise, active lifestyles and stress management will help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases and the consequent deterioration in the level of later life. Loss of memory is an inevitable part of aging. Indeed, age imposes a certain imprint on human brain activity. If you are more than thirty years old, then you probably noticed that you do not remember as easily as you used to. However, a significant loss of memory is not the inevitable result of aging. Strengthen it at any age, and exercises for training the brain are not so complicated. You can solve puzzles or enjoy puzzles, while trying to gradually complicate tasks. Every day, do something new, and it does not matter whether you go to the grocery store a new way or brush your teeth with the other hand. The more you strain your brain, the more benefits you get. You can not teach an old dog new tricks. In one of the most destructive myths about what constitutes old age, it is said about the impossibility after some age limit to try something unknown, and this leads to a gradual loss from life. Quite the opposite! Psychologists do not advise taking old age as a time of recession and regression. After studying the cognitive abilities of people aged between sixty and ninety years, specialists came to the conclusion that they can not only retain the available skills and knowledge, but also successfully master and develop new ones. It turns out that in the old age very much is done for us by the former rich experience. It is he who is responsible for acquiring new knowledge. Older people are also able to learn something unfamiliar and flourish in unusual conditions, like the young. If you believe in yourself, then your conviction and firmness prepare a fertile ground for positive changes in life. And this is regardless of age! 
How to feel young and live a full life?
The key ingredient in the recipe "How to makeold age happy? "is the ability to find meaning and joy. With age, our life will necessarily change, and we will lose what has so far taken up most of it. For example, you have to leave your favorite job or the children will go far from their home. But this does not mean that you need to stop your progress. If you do not yet know how to start your new "autumn" chapter, try one of the following, for example:
- remember your long-standing hobby, which was previously lacking in time, and take your favorite business seriously;
- spend more time with your grandchildren or with a pet, for sincerely and selflessly loving creatures will infect you with their energy and love of life;
- learn something new for yourself: playing a musical instrument, a foreign language, mastering the work on the computer;
- take part in public life: attend city events, become an active member of the Women's Council;
- join a club of interests;
- take a weekend trip to a place where you have never been;
- spend more time in nature: take a walk in the park, enjoy a picturesque view;
- join the art: visit the museum, go to a concert or a play.
The possibilities are endless. It is important to choose what will be most interesting for you and bring joy. If you find time for spiritual growth, there will not be room in your soul for the emaciated emptiness, and therefore the approaching old age will not frighten its inevitability. Further life can be full of other exciting events, if only you want it.
How to remain an active member of society?
One of the most serious problems of the elderlyis the isolation and loss of communication with society. When you grow older, maintaining relationships with others at the same level is more difficult even for those who have still led an active social life. Retirement, the death of friends and relatives - all this narrows the space for communication. And the older you become, the more people and relationships you lose with them. In this situation, it is very important to remain open to new connections. One has to force oneself to understand that loneliness and isolation can pose a real threat to your well-being. The good news is that there are many ways how to keep active connections with the world, despite old age.
Confront changes need to be worthy of
Age and advanced years are followed by periodsjoy and stress. And the realities of modern life do not spoil even the young and strong in spirit people. Therefore, the approaching old age indicates that it is now important to improve their resistance to stress and learn how to find healthy ways to solve problems. This will help you to enter the mature life of your life with dignity, and you can be among those many people who are approaching "Autumn of Life" will smile on sunny days and present the present "Indian summer". Be thankful to every new day. Learn to joyfully meet the sunrises and see off the sunsets without sadness. Undoubtedly, the longer we live, the more we lose. But the more we lose, the more precious life becomes! When you stop taking it as a matter of course, then learn to appreciate it even more and enjoy what you have. Allow yourself to express strong feelings. When you have difficult moments and are overwhelmed by strong emotions, you may find it necessary to keep them to yourself. It seems to many that a surge of feelings, tears - the lot of weak people. But carefully concealed experiences can lead to severe depression. Do not hold feelings in yourself, find the opportunity to express them. This can be done, for example, by talking to a loved one or by writing in a personal diary. Accept something that you can not change, and try to look at it from a different angle. Many things in life are beyond our control. Instead of concentrating on them, focus on the things that are subject to you. A trouble should be taken with dignity and a certain amount of humor. This principle can also be used to meet the coming old age without fear and depression. Look for the bad in good. As they say, "what does not kill us, it makes you stronger". When faced with serious problems, try to look at them as an opportunity for personal growth. If your own actions led you to a problem, reflect on them and learn from your own mistakes, because age and old age can not be a hindrance to objective and correct conclusions. Do not hide from difficult problems. The position of the ostrich has never helped anyone. Of course, if the problem seems too big, it is sometimes easier to "hide it under the carpet." But such ignoring does not give you the opportunity to get rid of it, it only allows you to be born of your anxieties and stress. But old age is not the best time for this. Simply over and over again, take one small step to solve the problem. And let it be gradual, but you can go a long way to strengthening your own confidence and understanding that you are not powerless. 
What do opinion polls and psychological research say?
Because old age is an indispensable life stageon the path of each person, then interest in how happy she can be, worries society for a long time. Therefore, it is understandable why sociologists, psychologists and gerontologists devote much time and energy to answering this burning question. And here's what conclusions they came to. Undoubtedly, happy old age is not a myth, but a reality. But people who managed to retain the urge to renew their usual views and interests, and also are ready to rethink their previous life experience, adapting it to new realities, say this about their feelings. All the old people, of course, are nostalgic for irretrievably departed youth. But some of them senselessly grieve about it, while others carefully leaf through the pages of their memory, extracting from it joyful moments and happy experiences that give inspiration and joy. The ones who live an active life in the present and do not give up plans for the near future are more relaxed and easygoing to their advanced age. Thus, elderly people have the opportunity to find harmony within themselves and subsequently form the main foundation allowing them to grow old happily. It is in true wisdom, which comes only with the years and gives us the opportunity to treat life contemplatively, philosophically perceiving the idea that life is not eternal. Undoubtedly, great importance in the adoption of their own old age and in the right attitude toward it has also to what type of person a person belongs to. Melancholics tend to see in old age a tragedy that crosses out all life plans. Phlegmatic people, perhaps, will not see an excuse for tormenting in the coming old age, as they are accustomed to perceive what is happening in their own manner, that is, calmly and without unnecessary emotions. Choleric people, always giving vent to their turbulent feelings, can look for extreme ones and fight with the whole world because they suddenly gave way to transport in the transport with the words: "Grandma, sit down! You, probably, are hard to stand? "Sanguine, which is quite expected, retirement due to age in general will be received with enthusiasm. Of course, this will save them from the tedious need to go to work day-to-day, when there are many other interesting things around, you can, for example, read a new detective novel or embroider a panel. That is why, for some, old age, death of loved ones, a sense of their own physical weakness or inattention from relatives can be a reason for depression, and even a neurosis. And the more powerful individuals who have a life-long stamina capable of adequately assessing reality and skillfully adapting to it, do not lose their self-respect and philosophically look at what they can not change. Many scientists are worried about the fact that a good physical shape, a favorable family background and a comfortable life do not at all guarantee a person the opportunity to calmly accept their own aging. After all, it often happens that the absence of most of these factors does not prevent elderly people from living in harmony with their advanced age. What are the secrets of these, in their own way, happy, the elderly? Specialists have found an answer to such a difficult question. In addition to common psychotypes, the successful adaptation to the "autumn of life" depends on how the person was formed throughout the years, under the influence of what circumstances his character developed, which formed the basis of his spiritual values and internal attitudes. Scientists came to the conclusion that creative people who do not think their life without a favorite thing, it is easier to adapt to old age. It's not just about artists, actors or writers. No, the same teachers can be called creative people if they are passionate about their profession and try to continue their favorite business with retirement, for example, doing private lessons, or taking an active part in the lives of their own grandchildren, developing them and educating them. As a result, older people with such a vital attitude retain their mental acuity and emotional qualities, which allows them to take their age more calmly. Agree, a successful and professional person who has experience of rich and vivid experiences, deteriorating health and other problems associated with aging, will perceive with a constructive, understanding and patience. But a loser, accustomed to blaming everyone around him, except for himself, with age will become a grim grudge, capable of spoiling a lot of blood to relatives. Therefore, for happiness in old age, one must be able to realize oneself in young years. It must be said that with the onset of old age people often fall into two extremes. In the first case, an aging person tries in every possible way to reject what is happening. This can be expressed in increased sexual activity or violent activity in the household, clothing style and tastes. The danger of the second extreme is that a sufficiently healthy elderly person with an awareness of his age suddenly begins to look for signs of imaginary illnesses. If this is a woman, she is constantly in a decadent mood, and reacts to all the comments with the phrase: "What do you want from the old woman?", Thus giving many afflictions to relatives. In the first case, time and patience will help, and in order to cope with the second extreme, it is best to entice your elderly relatives with new things, for example, caring for grandchildren. Work out together with the change of the interior in the apartment or at the cottage, start to equip and plant a homestead land, get a dog, finally. It does not matter what kind of business you come up with - the main thing is that it is of interest to the native person and managed to distract him from sad thoughts. Time flies inexorably, our lives smoothly flow from childhood to adolescence, youth turns into maturity, and there old age is not far off. This is the supreme law of existence, to which everything is subordinated. Unfortunately, we can not stop the flow of time, but we are able to manage the quality of life. We are the masters of our destiny, and it is up to us to decide whether we will be happy at an old age. We advise you to read:
