Dr. Phil: Fear of Getting Older
Dr. Phil talked on his show to Randi, who is terrified of getting older. She lies about her age and will do anything to feel and look younger. She tells people she’s 35 and let me tell you, she does not look 35. She said her mom is the only person who knows her true age.
Randi uses creams for wrinkles and acne. She’ll use makeup and concealer to cover it up. She said she knows the changes bodies go through are natural, but she hates it. She even raids her daughter’s closet.
Dr. Phil: What is FOGO?
Dr. Phil talked to a woman who was terrified of getting older, especially when it came to wrinkles. Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall said that wrinkles may be connected to osteoporosis. (Lorelyn Medina / Shutterstock.com)
Dr. Freda Lewis-Hall, chief medical officer of Pfizer, came by to talk about Randi’s fear of getting older. Dr. Phil asked Randi how old she is, but Randi refused to say.
Dr. Lewis-Hall said the fear of getting older is very common. 87 percent of Americans are afraid of getting older, which Dr. Lewis-Hall now calls “FOGO” for fear of getting older. The number one fear is physical decline, including health and inability to do things.
Dr. Lewis-Hall encouraged people to tweet @GetOld and @DrPhil, using the hashtag #FOGO. I encourage you to do it, too. I think FOGO is a great word for fear of getting older.
Dr. Phil: Fear of Wrinkles & Death
Randi said her biggest fears are wrinkles, the decline of her health, and death. “We can’t all age gracefully and be as beautiful as Miss Robin out there,” she said, referring to Dr. Phil’s wife Robin McGraw. She said she was afraid of going the other way and looking worse and worse.
Dr. Lewis-Hall said that it’s important to be healthy in life with good lifestyle decisions which encourage healthy aging. She also said feeling good inside is a determent for feeling good outside. Emotional health shows on the outside at any age.
Dr. Phil: Wrinkles & Osteoporosis
Dr. Lewis-Hall said that wrinkles can be associated with osteoporosis. It’s because skin and bones share a common building block: collagen. When collagen starts to break down in your skin and shows up as wrinkles, it can be a signal that it’s also breaking down in your bones, showing up as osteoporosis.
She said to work on the wrinkles on the outside, but also talk to your doctor about your bone health and make sure they’re doing okay.
Dr. Phil: Positive Role-Models For Health & Aging
Dr. Lewis-Hall introduced her father, Harvey Lewis, who she said was a positive role model for health and aging. Harvey was 96 years old and he took a bow and waved his arms around to the audience applause. He was there with his wife, who he had been married to only six years. Dr. Lewis-Hall said it was proof that age is just a number.
Dr. Lewis-Hall said her father inspired her to want to be aging gracefully like her father. Dr. Lewis-Hall encouraged Randi to age healthily for her children so they can look up to her and how she dealt with it. She also said most people won’t be as forthcoming with their fear of aging or as aware of it as Randi was.
I am 80 years old and live alone. I taught school for over 50 years. Now salesmen, handymen, neighbors and clerks take advantage of me. Today I realized that I was “taken” again. It makes me very depressed. How can I get my confidence back and feel good about myself?
There are only 2 choices to not getting older
1: live above ground
2:lay 6 feet under (death).
die young is another way to not getting older.
Deal with it