I think that age is a number and that a person should not think of it as something to be shy about nor vain. Jack Benny was quoted as saying, "age is a matter of mind and if you don"t mind, it doesn't matter.' However we have lived trough social periods and are living through a period where it does matter to many people especially to children who put their elders aways in old age homes and never visit. Society also is not always gentle to the person who has aged and is not as mobile as they were when they younger. There are two sorts of aging both mental and physical and those qualities can be taken apart or considered in unison since ones mental attitude often leads to physical limitations.
If a person puts into his mind that he is getting old pretty soon he may soon find himself cut off from the physical world which he was involved in. I think though that the process of eliminating choices and accepting a more sedentary lifestyle should help the person understand how he is going to age "mentally". Many times restrictions on how a person gets around is a precursor to how the person sees himself as a vital member of society. Analogies will be made between being less mobile and therefore being a less active participant in the enveloping society. A poor view of ones utility in the world around him would contribute to the mental aging process. Clearly if the person perceives himself as being useless because he is not as nimble as in his early years that contributes to depression which is in itself a cause of many disorders both real and imagined or psychosomatic.
A young person who is physically disabled will likely have a real block to deal with his infirm state. This is especially so for a person who was at one time physically active and popular with his peers. A gradual avoidance from his peers who are more physically able to play sports and date for example will impinge on his self-esteem. Here aging is insidious and indirect as the person does not see himself objectively putting his youth aside; he will more than likely be "aging" faster by putting himself in a more mature frame of mind. All this is a matter of perception.
There is no such thing as not enjoying the pleasures of youth when one ages. Historically we are not very far from a period where it was frowned on for older people to express their sexual desires or for their children to accept that their older relatives still have sexual needs. It has been documented that two older women having the same chronological age will age differently especially if one has a "younger" approach to practicing a healthy lifestyle that includes sex. The sexually active person will have a more youthful approach to living and mental aging will be delayed. Intercourse has long been known too a vital element in giving a person a healthier attitude in life. He is more likely to want to be more sociable and less withdrawn and laconic which would make him feel older. So the use of intercourse and how aging people partake in a wholesome lifestyle definitely influences their perception of being older.
