My body is strong, my mind is strong, and I embrace aging. But I have a confession: There are days that I'm feeling anxious about aging.
But there are also days that seeing my face in the mirror or looking at the skin on my legs in a yoga pose really messes with me. There are moments when I feel uneasiness. When I'm not feeling grounded, it can be hard not to look at a woman 20 years younger and compare her to myself... which reminds me of one of my great aunts (known to be outspoken) that I was a bit self-absorbed as a teenager (this was after she'd had had a few gin and tonics) that there better be more to me than looks.
She told me that when I (like she) started to age, my looks would not be so good (she did not mince words)... and that I had better start getting my act together and not rely on a rich husband who only appreciated me for my appearance to ride me through my older (less good looking) years. Keeping in mind that I was brought up with a bit of a princess complex, I was shocked at her blatant remarks at the time but now I look back and relish her words of wisdom.
This takes me back to the self-esteem issues and intense anxiety I experienced as an anorexic teenager. I had zero confidence, except that people said I looked pretty. I recently came across an old diary and my entries were pretty grim.
That said, I wouldn't trade the good looks that came with those dark days - except that now, I hope that 'that' pain can help educate others. I hope my work in the natural skincare world can help empower to those much young than myself and my contemporaries dealing with the aging process.
How do you deal with feeling anxious about aging?
