Reply to Anxious paranoia from aging parents?

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[quote=Anonymous]As people grow older, their physical frailty can make them feel more vulnerable. They also can start feeling less "with it" and slower on the uptake mentally. All of this can make a person feel more paranoid because they genuinely feel more vulnerable and less secure. They start craving reassurance and the comfortable familiarity of routines.

Sometimes older people are reluctant to explain the reasons for what appears to be a weird behavior, because they don't like seeming frail and/or old. For example, they may *have* to be home early and won't explain why, but it's because their eyesight makes driving at night difficult and they don't want to admit it. They also can sometimes be in physical discomfort, and they don't want to admit that for fear of being seen as a whiner or complainer; nonetheless, it will affect them. Sometimes they don't even realize changes in their perception that can affect their mood--cataracts can literally make the world look darker. Hearing problems can make it difficult to follow what's going on in a room full of people.

Then, there's the fact that their friends keep dying, and they know they will die soon too. For some older people, it can feel like just one loss after another.

It's just easier for people who are young and healthy to be more flexible and relax more. They have more energy, feel more capable of dealing with whatever uncertainties arise, and have largely experienced aging as growing more competent and not less. I think sometimes younger people, watching their parents get old, are just in denial about the fact that it's a real physical process that's going to affect a person in myriad ways. I have a lot of sympathy for older people and I feel like our society doesn't accept the changes they go through or offer much help or understanding. [/quote]

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