Middle age people are dropping like flies

[Anonymous]

before the pandemic, 1/3 of people who were in the workforce at 25 died or became disabled by age 65. Covid has made this worse--outright killing some people; increasing the rate of diabetes, kidney failure, blood clots, strokes, etc. in others; and leading to depression, anxiety, and decreases in screening for cancer and other diseases. Mortality is up overall, including from motor vehicle accidents, suicides, and overdoses.

Plus OP, as you get older, so do your peers. More people die in their 50s and 60s than in their 30s and 40s, and now you know more people in their 50s and 60s than you did when you were younger.

[Anonymous]

Op, you would need to find stats showing the death rates of people aged 40-60 (or whatever age group you're looking at) over the past 20 years and for 2021 to see if there's a significant difference. I don't know how Covid deaths will affect the numbers though. I know that overall, yes, deaths have increased significantly since Covid though.

I'm alarmed by the number of deaths among acquaintances from accidental OD of prescription opioids and benzos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My 80+ yr old mom battled cancer and all of her caregiving children including me (late 50s to mid 60s) have aged 10 years while looking after her for just 2-3 months. Her illness was so harrowing that I felt that I was in a nightmare and going through a heart attack myself and she needed intensive care. Its been months but I have not recovered. It was my own tipping point.

I’m so sorry. What a disturbing post. At 80 years, wouldn’t palliative care and pain meds as needed be better?

Palliative care is a necessity. Caregiving stress can ruin your health. Been there. Done it.

On top of dealing with terminally ill parent, we had to contend with insurance company that wouldn't pay the bills. On top of that our kid chose to go off the rails. My body began falling apart from all the stress. It's been some years but I haven't fully bounced back. I believe it.

This. The flow of mail from the insurance company letting you know what they will and won't pay and the hospital a lone creates so much stress. Then either watching a beloved parent die or a miserable hostile and abusive parent throw verbal daggers up until the end...it just does you in. Kids sense the stress and some externalize it and lose their shit. Or they just do the normal tween teen stuff which gets magnified because you have no reserves to deal with it.

My goal is just to survive each day, try to find some relief when I can and try to find some joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:50 and 60 is not middle age!!!!

Average life expectancy is 76 for men and 81 for women. Therfore, middle age is 36-40 for men and 38-42 for women. 50 and 60 is older than that.

I second that. I am not surprised by any death over 60. I think it’s sadder than, say, 70+, but I’m not shocked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:50 and 60 is not middle age!!!!

Average life expectancy is 76 for men and 81 for women. Therfore, middle age is 36-40 for men and 38-42 for women. 50 and 60 is older than that.

I second that. I am not surprised by any death over 60. I think it’s sadder than, say, 70+, but I’m not shocked.

middle age is generally considered to be more than a span of just 4 years though.

[Anonymous]

Merriam-Webster, the dictionary, says middle age is 45-64. It is a phase of life. It’s not simply half of the age when you die. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/middle%20age

[Anonymous]

I'm older Gen X. I think stress among my peers is very, very high. A lot of my peers are divorced and unsettled. Some are piecemealing together part-time jobs and projects because staying employed is getting more shaky (you're over 50, that happens).

They can put on their game face and hide the stress, but are busted when they go to the doctor and their blood pressure is off the charts. But they're training for an Iron Man next month, doing two side hustles, and checking the dating apps for updates. Many do not have enough in retirement savings.

My generation is stressed out beyond imagination, and nobody talks about it. I think there is a connection between stress levels and the topic here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm older Gen X. I think stress among my peers is very, very high. A lot of my peers are divorced and unsettled. Some are piecemealing together part-time jobs and projects because staying employed is getting more shaky (you're over 50, that happens).

They can put on their game face and hide the stress, but are busted when they go to the doctor and their blood pressure is off the charts. But they're training for an Iron Man next month, doing two side hustles, and checking the dating apps for updates. Many do not have enough in retirement savings.

My generation is stressed out beyond imagination, and nobody talks about it. I think there is a connection between stress levels and the topic here.

Agree thanks to our selfish boomer parents who have done zero to prepare for their own demise and expect us to pick up the pieces.

[Anonymous]

I agree.

I have noticed this in my own family as well (people of my age are dying, whereas their parents lived into their 90's).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm older Gen X. I think stress among my peers is very, very high. A lot of my peers are divorced and unsettled. Some are piecemealing together part-time jobs and projects because staying employed is getting more shaky (you're over 50, that happens).

They can put on their game face and hide the stress, but are busted when they go to the doctor and their blood pressure is off the charts. But they're training for an Iron Man next month, doing two side hustles, and checking the dating apps for updates. Many do not have enough in retirement savings.

My generation is stressed out beyond imagination, and nobody talks about it. I think there is a connection between stress levels and the topic here.

Agree thanks to our selfish boomer parents who have done zero to prepare for their own demise and expect us to pick up the pieces.

You sound bitter and self-centered (not OP). Name a generation that did a great job of preparing for their demise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm older Gen X. I think stress among my peers is very, very high. A lot of my peers are divorced and unsettled. Some are piecemealing together part-time jobs and projects because staying employed is getting more shaky (you're over 50, that happens).

They can put on their game face and hide the stress, but are busted when they go to the doctor and their blood pressure is off the charts. But they're training for an Iron Man next month, doing two side hustles, and checking the dating apps for updates. Many do not have enough in retirement savings.

My generation is stressed out beyond imagination, and nobody talks about it. I think there is a connection between stress levels and the topic here.

Agree thanks to our selfish boomer parents who have done zero to prepare for their own demise and expect us to pick up the pieces.

Do you have OCD? Your boomer hatred is boring to the rest of us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree.

I have noticed this in my own family as well (people of my age are dying, whereas their parents lived into their 90's).

It could also be a chemical we were exposed to that they weren't, or we were exposed to it for our formative years while they were already adults when it "hit the market."

[Anonymous]

I wonder about breastfeeding too. I don't have any data to back it up, but I know my parents (who were/are cusp Greatest Generation/Boomers) were breast fed and me and my siblings weren't (and our mother was put under to deliver us) as birthing went through a period of over medicalization. Wonder if their long lives reflect this and also not so much access to processed food or overeating.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm older Gen X. I think stress among my peers is very, very high. A lot of my peers are divorced and unsettled. Some are piecemealing together part-time jobs and projects because staying employed is getting more shaky (you're over 50, that happens).

They can put on their game face and hide the stress, but are busted when they go to the doctor and their blood pressure is off the charts. But they're training for an Iron Man next month, doing two side hustles, and checking the dating apps for updates. Many do not have enough in retirement savings.

My generation is stressed out beyond imagination, and nobody talks about it. I think there is a connection between stress levels and the topic here.

Agree thanks to our selfish boomer parents who have done zero to prepare for their own demise and expect us to pick up the pieces.

You sound bitter and self-centered (not OP). Name a generation that did a great job of preparing for their demise.

I'm not the pp you quoted. but I agree with them. My grandparents (greatest generation) did a great job of preparing.
My parents are among the oldest of the boomers (born in 1946/1948) and are very selfish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I wonder about breastfeeding too. I don't have any data to back it up, but I know my parents (who were/are cusp Greatest Generation/Boomers) were breast fed and me and my siblings weren't (and our mother was put under to deliver us) as birthing went through a period of over medicalization. Wonder if their long lives reflect this and also not so much access to processed food or overeating.

This sounds mixed up. What years were you and your siblings born?
There also was a generation between "greatest generation" and "boomers"--the silent generation. So there was not cusp of Greatest Generation and Boomers.

But in general, when the older boomers had babies, trends leaned towards more natural births and encouraged breastfeeding--especially compared to THEIR mothers (greatest generation.)