Getting older

Absolutely yes.

My current situation doesn’t sound much like yours, but the general fear of aging I also have. I’m okay with the idea of dying of old age, or being at an old age, but thinking about actually aging makes me feel so uncomfortable. Thinking about the way the body will change is just very disquieting. Even worse, I think it’s on my mind more than it is for any of my family members. I’ll be having a conversation with them or I‘ll just be in the same room as them and I’ll wonder to myself what’s going to happen to them between now and 30 or so years in the future.

Plus, I also don’t take the best care of myself and I worry about how that’ll affect me in the future. It’s so crazy to me that physically humans spend around 25 years developing, then about 5 years being in their absolute physical prime, and then the rest of their life going slowly downhill; though I’m glad that it doesn’t make any difference most of the time (I think most people don’t pay much mind to their bodies capabilities, and most athletes and gym rats do what they do for much longer than 5 years). I do get worried about how much pain I’ll be in once I’m old. Especially when my knee hurts today; I can’t even imagine how it’ll feel at 60+. Also, I still haven’t formed a hydration habit so I’m curious as to how that’ll turn out.

I think what’s makes it worse than anything is that right now I already feel like I’ve wasted so much time. In my entire life I’ve never really had any hobbies, nor have I really explored what’s outside my house, nor have I had friends, and ever since I’ve developed this fear it’s like I have a sort of timer in my head that makes me feel like I’m in a great rush to do all these things, but I’m still the same person as before I became really conscious of time always passing. That is to say: I haven’t really grown as a person. I’m still really uncomfortable and awkward with people and going out, it’s just now that in addition to feelings of isolation I also have feelings of my time running out that make me really want to be a person who does have hobbies and goes out and has friends.

Then there’s also the fear of changing drastically but for the worse. I really want to have a life I can enjoy- the future I would imagine for myself right now. I don’t want to end up like a lot of people older than me that I know.

Again, my situation doesn’t really sound like yours. Still, I relate to being afraid of getting older. You’re definitely not alone on that.

Hello Former Member

I'm sorry to hear that you can struggle with stress and anxiety. If you feel that you might need some support with your mental health, you can find advice and information on how to go about seeking help, including links to other resources and details of helplines and listening support services, here: https://www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/mental-health/seeking-help. 

All the best,

ChloeMod

you see these TV shows where some Instagram model has radical cosmetic surgery to make them look over 10 years younger. If I could look like I did when I was 18 again I certainly would.

I don't mind my appearance changing all that much but getting older and not being able to do as much bothers me

You know even at my age having been on Facebook for nearly two decades now probably, my main profile picture is still me at around 16-17 years old. I still feel that represents who I am better than what I see in the mirror. And given the choice I’d certainly wind the clock back a couple of decades or more.