“My Brain Still Thinks I’m 25”: People Reveal The Worst Things About Their Current Age

Bored Panda got in touch with Divija Bhasin to learn more about the fear of aging and she was kind enough to answer some of our questions. Divija is a 26-year-old counseling psychologist, psychotherapist, influencer, and content creator based out of New Delhi. She is also the founder of a mental health organization called “The Friendly Couch” which provides therapy to people in need.

We wanted to hear her thoughts on why the idea of aging often affects people negatively. “There could be many reasons for this depending on the person. One of them is that we are afraid of our own mortality. We would like to avoid the idea that we cannot live forever and aging reminds us of that. Another reason could be how society views aging. We see old people as “incapable” and not as a part of society.”

"It is looked down upon if an aged person does “normal things” like working, dating, etc. This can be extremely isolating and make the process of aging more difficult to deal with. As humans, we like to be in control of our bodies as it is easier to protect ourselves that way. Aging is beyond our control which makes us feel helpless and unsafe, she shared with Bored Panda.

Naturally, we wanted to hear what advice she had for people to overcome this feeling. “Some of the things people can do to accept that they are getting older - remember that you may not have control over aging but you do have control over other things in your life. Make connections with people of all age groups."

"This might help give you new perspectives and show you that everyone is growing old. It’ll show you how others deal with aging. Stay active. Just because society has this notion that an old person is just someone who sits on a chair all day and doesn’t “do” anything, does not mean it has to be true for you (as long as your health allows it)."

She left us with some parting thoughts. “The problem with aging is not just the fact that it is difficult to accept due to the idea of death, it is also how we push old people away from society. Social support is very important for all age groups. It is vital that we talk more about the mental health struggles associated with old age so we can help support old people and help them live a better life.” You can find Divija Bhasin’s work on Instagram here and you can find her LinkedIn profile here.