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mannuts4u , Martin Péchy / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I'm not in vain, but I think it's incredibly difficult to lose your looks. Going from young vibrant looking to old and haggard. visually, you can see you're getting old, even though you don't feel old inside.

Final score:

111points

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Auntriarch 3 months ago

Helps if you were no oil painting to start with.

37points

Michael Largey 3 months ago

I've always looked like an oil painting. School of Hieronymus Bosch, unfortunately.

15points

Stannous Flouride 3 months ago

Unless it's of Dorian Gray.

3points

Gloria G 2 months ago

I was definitely not an oil painting but I didn't start losing my looks until a couple of years ago. I'm 71.

0points

ZuriLovesYou 3 months ago

Been there.

0points

Paula MV 3 months ago

It was so strange when men stopped looking at me and flirting with me. I was a pretty girl, and I knew I had aged when that happened.

10points

David 3 months ago

I look older in the mirror than I do in my head. I've had a laugh at myself more than once by situations like - see an older person walking across the parking lot and casually think they are old - then realize, actually they look like they are about the same age as me.

8points

lovemy suffolk 3 months ago

Oh gosh...THIS!! I don't feel old at all, like I stopped aging at 27. And then I see a photo and think who is that silver haired woman with a wobbly chin? Not how I envision myself at all.

4points

Papa 3 months ago

A year or so my wife took a picture of me from the side when I wasn't paying attention. A while later she showed it to me, and my initial reaction was "Who's that old man?"

6points

Bilja M 3 months ago

I noticed the change after maybe age 43. Suddenly everyone kind of ignored me, looked right through me, like I don't even exist. Wherever I go, people stopped being nice (I wasn't even aware they were nice because I used to be very pretty), and not really rude but more like ignoring me. It's really worse than people being rude to you, when they act like you don't even exist.

5points

Moosy Girl 3 months ago

I've been fat and ugly since birth, I'm relieved if people just act like I don't exist, they can (and do) really do much worse.

8points

Alexa Saltz 3 months ago

I do not recognize the face in the mirror. Standing behind an elderly gentlemen in line for the cashier, a group of teenagers behind me started giggling and one rolls her eyes and whispers "old people" to her friends. I turn, nod and smile - then notice the look of their faces. OMG! Me? I am "old people" too?!?!?

3points

Verfin22 3 months ago

What if you are 44, feel inside like you're 64, but pass as looks like 34? My insides haven't been as kind to me as my outsides.

3points

Catherine Monelle 3 months ago

I get this. I look in the mirror now and it's just a shocking disappointment.

2points

Jane Alexander 3 months ago

Love this old thing; by Anthony Euwer As a beauty I'm not a great star, There are others more handsome by far. —But my face—I don't mind it, —Because I'm behind it— It's the people in front that I jar.

1point

Deep One 2 months ago

As a guy for me it's losing the strength I used to have.

0points

Jane Alexander 2 months ago

Not a guy but yeah, me too.

1point

Gracie Mae 3 months ago

i kinda like it--no pressure to keep up appearances! between losing my looks & gaining weight, at least i'm not worried about being easy to kidnap! lol, it's a joke...

0points

Blondie23 3 months ago

Just stop looking in the mirror... that's what I have done!

0points

Cee Mor 3 months ago

ohhhh the neck!!! I can't even look at my neck in the mirror in the morning, who even is that!

0points

Amberlie Mikelsen 3 months ago

On this point, I consider myself quite lucky. There's a photo of me (with my first ex-husband and my older son) that was taken around the time I turned 20 (Munchkin was less than a year old). Other than a bit of weight in the jaw area and chronic under-eye luggage, I still look the same as I did then, and that was 24 years ago.

0points

The Phantom Stranger 3 months ago

I am adopted, and I've always joked that the only way it bothers me is that I didn't inherit my father's hair genes. Sure enough, my hair started thinning when I hit 50. When my father passed away last year--after a long period of illness and failing health--he still had a fuller head of hair than I have in good health and 30 years younger.

0points

Sandrapocalypse 3 months ago

Beauty is an attitude. Do I look like I did at 20? Heck no, I am beautiful because I exist, doors are opened for me, people are polite, I get a cat call now and then. I'm almost 50. I feel beautiful in my skin, my skin does not make me beautiful.

0points

Isabella 3 months ago

Ah, so 1. you are vain. and 2. it only bothers people who were considered conventionally attractive. For all of us in the shadows, or even stuck with "ugly" label this is not a problem at all. Finally everyone looks the same :D

0points

Vivi Pettiss 3 months ago

Nah, it's more of a confusing thing. If you woke up and you were a lighter/darker skin color, you would be freaked out. Doesn't mean you're racist. It's just because it doesn't look like how you thought you looked.

3points

Zestyclose_Big_9090 , Andres Ayrton / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Weight gain that I can’t lose no matter what I do.

Final score:

106points

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Antony Aston 3 months ago

Been on a strict diet for the last three months. In the first few weeks I lost 30lb - not an ounce since.

11points

Photon_Femme , Andres Ayrton / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them A few things come to mind. Lack of stamina. Good grief. I have been active for all my life, but now, even the simple gym routine wears me out. It bothers me each day that physical tasks take longer, I often ache afterwards, and the thought of breaking down bit by bit scares the stuffing out of me.

My never having been beautiful physically, you would think that not being noticed wouldn't bother me. It does. Getting the aid of a store clerk has become task. I find myself having to force myself on people. That's annoying.
The forgetting of names, proper nouns when I know those are words are somewhere in my brain just aggravates the stew out of me. Where did those words go? Hours later I will be loading the dishwaher and, damn, the name or book title will pop in head as though the brain kept searching for it long after I forgot I needed the name earlier. What's up with that?

Getting shorter. Freaking gravity. I was never tall and now I know that centimeter by centimeter I get closer to the ground. Argh.

Arthritis. All the activity, wear and tear on my joints as a young adult has come to haunt me. I have spent the last seven years doing resistance weight training to strengthen the muscles around the achy joints. Thank goodness I did, but nothing has helped stop the stiffening of joints.

Not being needed on some level. I spent so much time taking care of growing children, making professional decisions in my work life, coming up with solutions to make systems better and now I often feel hollow, useless. I want to know that I can help not just be a token.

Another sad thing concerns my decreasing lack of patience. I can no longer suffer the insufferable and wanton ignorance around me. I must walk away. Civil discourse disappears when grown a*s adults believe and repeat lies and conspiracies. That's not a debate, it's chaos. There's no deference to the expertise in our world. Retired insurance salespeople are not experts on geopolitics or macroeconomics. They just aren't. Ugh. For goodness sake, just shut up.

I must be cranky this morning. So I will shut up now.

Final score:

100points

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Isabella 3 months ago

Arthrisis hit me with my thyroid going out of window at 33. Fun times, nobody believes you, "young people do not get so sick"

22points

linda70455 , Gabriel Gurrola / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Having to let go of a dream or goal that will never be achieved. 😢.

Final score:

97points

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Isabella 3 months ago

For many of us, this dream is not being homeless. We will never afford homes

24points

EXXPat , Eduardo Flores / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Decrease in stamina; why is everything so tiring now?

Final score:

92points

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Skara Brae 3 months ago

Someone I know is in his 80s and has greatly reduced stamina. When he's resting he can get up and move around for a while. However, soon he has to move slowly and rest often. It turns out his aortic valve is mostly calcified. This means it doesn't open as far as it should. This means he can't replenish the oxygen in his blood fast enough when he's moving around. A heart surgeon measured his valve (everyone is different) and it should open as far as 4 square centimeters. Currently it can only open as far as 0.9 centimeters, so they are planning surgery.

18points

WTFuckery2020 , Lisa Fotios / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I have noticed a change in my short-term memory over the past several months and it's concerning me.

Final score:

91points

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Isabella 3 months ago

This is actually scary.

28points

Annual-Hovercraft158 , Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Crepe skins and loss of muscle.

Final score:

90points

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Norma 3 months ago

It's weird to look down and you don't even recognize your own hands.

46points

someguy14629 , Jilbert Ebrahimi / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Vision. Letters are too small on so many things. Glasses on. Glasses off. Where are my glasses? Bifocals.

Final score:

86points

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Papa 3 months ago

I've been wearing bifocals for about 15 years. The only "Glasses on, glasses off" I do is when I'm at the computer. I have a second pair (that aren't bifocals) set for my vision at arms length so I'm not straining my neck looking at the monitors through my bifocals.

10points

littlespawningflower Report

#10

I’ve always had a cat (or two). After my previous boy passed, I went and adopted a bonded pair, because I’m getting *two* out of the shelter, right? But after a couple of years I came to realize that- if they stay healthy, they could easily outlive me and my husband (we are both 70). And then what happens? Everybody says, “Oh, provide for them in your will! Get a commitment from a friend or family member who can take them!”. What if you don’t have anyone who can take them?

Maybe we’ll be lucky and outlive them. Maybe my daughter halfway across the country (who currently has a cranky cat and two very energetic dogs) will have an opening. Maybe a cat-loving neighbor will still be living nearby. Maybe. 🥺🥺🥺 I worry about it.

Final score:

84points

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Jeremy James 3 months ago

I used to volunteer at a sanctuary with over 700 cats. Many of them came from elderly folks in that exact situation.

39points

#11

Going on Reddit and reading all the hate for Boomers. Apparently we are one giant evil monolithic hive-mind because we were born between 1946-1964. That’s all it took, just being born at a specific time. We’re like the Borg.

On the other hand, all the other generations consist of millions of individuals with different personalities and political viewpoints and different and individual hopes, dreams, hobbies, and interests.

squirrelcat88 Report

Final score:

79points

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Nils Skirnir 3 months ago

Blame the marketers and politicians for that. Divide, conquer, and sell c**p to

35points

Izdabye , Kaique Rocha / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#12

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Becoming invisible. No one tells you and then it’s too late.

Final score:

77points

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WindySwede 3 months ago

25points

Glittering_Sky8421 , Gabin Vallet / unsplash (not the actual photo) Report

#13

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I used to have so much discipline. I could keep my weight down, exercise 7 times a week, keep my home organized, etc. Now I just want to eat gummies, Doritos and hang out here.

Final score:

77points

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Bluonthefront 3 months ago

I'm ok with letting go of some things. Idc if my home and yard look photo ready. They look good enough. I spend my time on the things I enjoy more.

16points

#14

Menopause... and all the s**t no one warned me about. Like losing your sex drive. ( which I've fortunately gotten back, somewhat).... or aging 10 yrs in 6 months. Waking up one morning to find I have NO eyebrows.... you know, s**t like that!

Bluesage444 Report

Final score:

76points

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pipboo@live.co.uk 3 months ago

Me too! I see the age of 50 and the menopause as a huge watershed in my life. HRT has successfully removed all of the unpleasant medical symptoms, such as sweats, anxiety and insomnia, which allows me to keep working, so I'm very grateful. On the other hand I've metamorphised from an attractive and sexually active wonam in my 40's into a wrinkly, silver haired asexual old grannie in my 50's. And all that happened within a year, just bizarre!

51points

S_L_Raymond , Mike Bird / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#15

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Realizing that the end is no longer over the horizon; it is the horizon.

Final score:

75points

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Bat cat in a hat 3 months ago

I'm ok with that, better die sooner than suffer for years with some horrible degenerative illness

40points

Mooseagery , Josh Sorenson / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#16

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them That events/cultural references that you remember vividly are a lot older than you think, and in many cases, younger folks will have no idea what you are talking about.

Final score:

74points

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keyboardtek 3 months ago

I saw the progressive rock group Emerson, Lake & Palmer when I was 17. One of the best concerts in my life. Young people today would not even have the attention span to listen to all the musical ideas in one ELP suite like Tarkus.

21points

YogaBeth , Bruno Bueno / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#17

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them I’ve been a personal trainer, marathoner, martial arts instructor, yoga teacher, …… since I was about 22. I’m 57. In my youthful, delusional mind, I truly thought I would be 80 before I started slowing down. Aging is humbling. We can exercise, eat right, and avoid most of the bad stuff. But, accidents happen. Genetics happen. Illness happens. I’m still very grateful that I have stayed fit and healthy through the years. But I was so sure I would be a marathon running grandma. Aging has checked my ego in a big way.

Final score:

68points

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Auntriarch 3 months ago

I guess you would have been worse off if you hadn't started out fit. And at least you don't have my sister in law who is a marathon running grandma and she only started running just before COVID

15points

#18

Not knowing who some “famous” people are. I look at the cover of People magazine when checking out at the supermarket and half the time don’t know who the people they are crowing about are, lol.

SurrealKnot Report

Final score:

68points

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Jeremy James 3 months ago (edited)

I swear they keep making up new famous people and just expect us to play along.

48points

Dutch Swimmer Goes Viral For Super Revealing Trunks During 2024 Olympics: “Is This Legal?”

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Thrill-Seeking Diver Jumps Down Extreme Waterslide, Ignoring The Strict Ban For Women

#19

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them When you are younger it feels like you have all the time in the world to do things. I am now coming to terms with the fact that “someday” is a lot smaller of a window.

Alternative_Sock_608 , Ari Alqadri / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

66points

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JM 3 months ago

And it feels true (to me) that time goes by faster. Even for small things - I was recently taking the sheets off my bed for laundry and thought to myself, "I just did this!" (a week ago)

21points

#20

Damned QR Codes for literally everything.

Mooseagery Report

Final score:

66points

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keyboardtek 3 months ago

Small print on all the grocery store items. Packages now have ten different fonts and sizes of fonts, and trying to focus on reading them when eyesight is getting worse everyday becomes very frustrating. Reading a magazine! Once the word processor was invented, idiots decided that every page has to use every font available in twenty different sizes with five extra boxes on every page in fourteen different colors. It lacks any level of symmetry, or visual sense of harmony.

11points

HawkReasonable7169 , Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#21

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Being patronized by doctors.

Final score:

63points

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WindySwede 3 months ago

"Just take a Tylenol" 👩‍⚕️👨‍⚕️

14points

Daisy_W , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#22

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them The people I love won’t be around forever.

Final score:

62points

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JoNo 3 months ago

Increasing awareness that I won't be around forever.

30points

NoIndividual5987 , Andrea Piacquadio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#23

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Singing well. I can’t hit high notes anymore and sometimes my voice is shaky and off key. I don’t sing in public, just in the car or at home, but it saddens me that no one will ever say “Wow! I didn’t know you could sing like that” ever again. 😒.

Final score:

60points

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Steve Hall 3 months ago (edited)

My singing has always been an easy way to upset cats.

17points

Woman Put A Water Fountain With A Camera In Her Yard, Here Are 24 Photos Of Regular Visitors (New Pics)

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“Ma’am I Live Here”: Woman Refuses To Back Out Of Driveway, Learns A Lesson The Hard Way

#24

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Can’t wear high heels.

Pure-Guard-3633 , Apostolos Vamvouras / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

60points

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Auntriarch 3 months ago

Sigh, yes I have a fabulous pair of stilettos in the cupboard which I'm pretty certain I'll never wear again, I used to go shopping in them.... But I have gold birkies, so that's very consoling

21points

#25

Dealing with heat & humidity; untrustworthy knees.

Sicon614 Report

Final score:

57points

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BarfyCat 3 months ago

I used to love summer. Not anymore!

21points

PicoRascar , Maksim Smirnov / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#26

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Loss of ambition and drive. Part of me kind of likes it because deep down I'm just a bum but overall it's been tough to accept. Hard to describe but you reach a point of just feeling finished with it all and energy doesn't come easy anymore.

Unless I'm super stoked about something, I basically don't care about it and can't even force myself to pretend to care.

Final score:

54points

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Irish Lassie 3 months ago

You’ve just described what millions of women go thru after menopause. You’ve also just described me to a T! It takes so much just to PRETEND to be interested, never mind being ACTUALLY interested. I choose naps over almost any other “activity”. The saddest part is that I used to be a gymnast and barrel racer (horses) and now I can barely muster the energy or strength to get out of bed. I believe it’s called depression. I envy those women who, at 60+, seem to be unfazed at all by age, injury or mental health issues. Thanks for passing that trait on to me, Mom! She’s 85 and has been depressed since I can remember. Go easy on us, children. You’ll soon be right where we are someday. 👵🏻👶🏻

29points

johngknightuk , cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

#27

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them Not only hair growing out of new places that never had hair before but growing an inch over night.

Final score:

54points

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Nils Skirnir 3 months ago

Eyebrow combover

22points

50 Of The Most Incredible Shots That Were Submitted To The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards

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French Diver’s “Jewels” In Tight Swimming Trunks Become Talk Of The Town At Olympics

#28

Realizing me and hubby can't just lift heavy objects like we did 20 years ago when we moved in. We're buying and putting together new furniture and deep calculations go into how we're going to get it up the stairs or room to room. Literally stuck with a very, very old bedroom set (hubby's grandma) we no longer can get downstairs to get rid of it. Will have to hire movers so we can get a new set.

Yeah, we're old asf. Hubby just turned 70 yesterday.

Insult to injury: I take him to a winery for his birthday/ We're sitting outside on a beautiful day sipping white wine and eating some cracker, hummus, and stuffed olives, and chatting (we use sign language) before going to dinner. A women is walking around and back and forth (I swear I caught her filming us while a video call she was on). At one point she passed by again and says, "You two are so cute. Sitting there just enjoying yourselves in the sun." I say thank you, but...

I'm thinking, so we've become that cute little old couple now??? WTF?! 😳.

Paulie227 Report

Final score:

51points

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WindySwede 3 months ago

filming? what the FLICK

22points

Woman Moves Out Of Parents' Home After They Asked Her To Give Her Space To Brother, They Freak Out

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Mom Leaves $250k Inheritance To Son, Throws A Fit When Daughter Stops Looking After Her

#29

People Born Before 1980 Share The Struggles Of Their Age And Here Are 30 Of Them The hardest thing to understand as it's happening is that your circle of friends gradually grows smaller and smaller. They're still your friends and when you see them it's like old times. But the times you see them gradually decrease to almost never. And these people who were/are the most important people in your life for such a pivotal time in your life slowly begin to have other normal priorities - partners, families, work commitments, general adulting.

You grow up watching TV shows, seeing people in their 20s and 30s hanging out all the time, seeing each other daily, and you expect that to be your life. And it sort of is for a short time in real life. But the people pair up (normal), no longer need roommates (normal), get jobs in another city (normal), buy a house (normal), get married (normal), have kids (normal) and so on and so on.

This has been the hardest thing to accept.

FewWave4322 , Sofia Alejandra / pexels (not the actual photo) Report

Final score:

45points

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keyboardtek 3 months ago

At 70 I have found making new friends is nearly impossible. As a male, if you start talking to other men you casually run into like at the pool or the gym and start small talk, they think you are gay and shut down conversation quickly. Plus so many oldsters have bad hearing and conversation is difficult.

27points