Emotions Get Better with Age

Stay in the know, this article says.

For the past 20 years, Susan Turk Charles, a psychologist at the University of California, Irvine, has been monitoring the shifting moods, the sense of satisfaction, the moments of contemplation and the occasional outbursts of anger, sadness and despair of people of all ages — with a special interest in how we handle and experience emotions as we grow older.

She and her colleagues have found that, on average, older people have fewer but more satisfying social contacts and report higher emotional well-being.

A lot of work has found that older people have a positive bias, even without realizing they’re actually doing this. Their default mode is, as we say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” We find that older people more often let go of a situation they experience as negative, especially with friends and family.

For people who are unhappy, it’s really important to look at how to structure your days to feel more fulfilled.

I guess for everyone I would say: When you’re making a list of health behaviors, getting enough sleep and exercise and eating right are important factors that most people agree should be included, but social relationships is something that is as important as your cholesterol level, yet is often forgotten.

Make sure that you spend time cultivating your social ties, treasuring and prioritizing your close friends and family members, at whatever age you are.

Finding purpose and meaning in life is also vitally important.

What that is can be different for different people, but finding an important purpose and following that can be very emotionally gratifying.

She and her colleagues have found that, on average, older people have fewer but more satisfying social contacts and report higher emotional well-being.

A lot of work has found that older people have a positive bias, even without realizing they’re actually doing this. Their default mode is, as we say, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” We find that older people more often let go of a situation they experience as negative, especially with friends and family.

For the Full Article, please click on this link: https://knowablemagazine.org/article/mind/2021/emotions-get-better-age