16 replies to this topic

[ImmortalSpace]

I have had severe generalized anxiety for the past 5 years and I still look 18 years old based on every single person I meet that either thinks i'm in high school or thought I was chronologically 18.

My main point is, a lot of people say stress ages you- but I have experienced restless anxiety 24\7 for the past 5 years, and yes generalized anxiety is always there- there is no calm. Yet I still look young for my age.

I'm sure you know people who are severely deperessed or bipolar yet they still look young for their age then people who are mentally healthy with no where near that stress yet still age fast.

 

Maybe a theory is that we adapt to severe stress that it does not damage us the way it would damage another person, kind of like how exercise helps your muscles- stress helps you fight back.

 

I still wonder and look at people who seem fairly well balanced and do not have a stressfull life at all, yet they age so very quickly. I truly think that the food you eat is the main factor in aging, possibly something to do with epigenetics.

 

I am trying to figure out what the primary factor is, is it a microbiome that has been damaged that causes aging. (read dr. Perlmutter Brain Maker) or is it trans fat and gluten  and grain fed meat those people consume?

 

 

Maybe we have stress all wrong, maybe it makes us stronger and more capable of our body becoming stronger.. like I said how exercise (stressful body experience) increases your SOD production and how much free radicals you fight off.

Does anyone else agree with me, this is a very keen observation I have noticed that practically no one has pointed out or possibly even noticed. Let me know what you think.

 

[niner]

I think your sample size, n = 1, is too small to draw conclusions.   The relationship between health (or "biological age") and youthful appearance is rather tenuous. 
 

I am trying to figure out what the primary factor is, is it a microbiome that has been damaged that causes aging. (read dr. Perlmutter Brain Maker) or is it trans fat and gluten  and grain fed meat those people consume?

 

 

None of the above.  I don't think that looking for a primary factor is going to work very well, since there are many factors.  Macronutrient ratios, micronutrient sufficiency, exercise and sleep are major factors, among others.

[ImmortalSpace]

IT has to be a damaged microbiome since it's closely linked to the immune system. Also fast food takes a toll fast. Bad diet and lifestyle can hurt your body really fast.

 

A damaged micriobiome occurs when you consume gluten and generally too much sugar and carbs.. hence the immune system is damaged.

[ImmortalSpace]

As far as the scientific evidence goes, a microbiome that is being destroyed likely means you'll age faster or have a higher chance of suffering from neurological probems.

 

Summary: Gluten is bad.

 Research gluten and brain connection by Dr. Perlmutter, Grain brain and Brain Maker.

[Heyman]

I believe as a caucasian with the right genes and/or sun avoidance you can do a lot of things 'wrong' and still look very young.

[ImmortalSpace]

Any race can do the right things to look young. We all have dormant genes not being expressed, so epigenetics comes into play. Foods and drinks turn on and off certain genes. Genes are not a set thing, but a dynamic on off switch with how we live.

 

[JamiePurdy]

I wonder stress doesn't cause an aged look? My face has lost its grace and always have a tired look. I thought it would due to the job stress that I have been undergoing. I'm 35 years old and a mother of 2 kids. I have a plan to undergo a facelift surgery (REMOVED)  but just not sure if 35 years old is too old to undergo it. Does anyone know about this? 

Edited by caliban, 13 August 2015 - 05:58 PM.

[ceridwen]

I think the older you are the more difficult it is to withstand stress and that it brings on age related diseases the diseases of old age

[mega10d0n]

I think that the believe, that stress ages you is what actually ages you.

 

http://www.ted.com/t...ess_your_friend

[Epitopia]

I also have many years of anxiety behind me and most people think I am 23-27 while I am 32. Nutrition and sun avoidance plays by far a bigger role than stress.

[Brett Black]

I'm not aware of any good evidence for what I'm about to say, so this is just all very speculative on my part but: I know that it is commonly believed by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists that repeated facial expressions can lead to chronic facial lines and wrinkles. Surely smiling must be one of the most common expressions that induces intense acute facial lines and wrinkles. So perhaps smiling could be bad for aesthetic aging? Perhaps having an animated face, which might be associated with happiness and lower stress, could in general be bad? Whereas a blank, low energy type of face, which might be more associated with stress/anxiety/low mood, may actually be beneficial for facial aging?

[sthira]

^^ Naw, I beg to differ on my friend Brett's above comments. Smile, be happy, relax -- being easy going and free with smiles and joy will totally make you seem younger no matter how long ago you were born. Nothing is more beautiful about us than our sweet, gentle smiles.

[Rocket]

I also have many years of anxiety behind me and most people think I am 23-27 while I am 32. Nutrition and sun avoidance plays by far a bigger role than stress.

 

When I was my early 30s I didn't take care of myself as well as I should have and was routinely thought of by people to be in my mid-20s.  The truth is there is zero accomplishment in being early 30s and looking 20-somthing.  Unless you harmed your health and looks, you should look like your late 20s.  Unless you went prematurely grey you're going to look like a late 20-something.  It's not even that hard to be 42 and look mid-30s with proper diet, rest, body composition, and of course style.

Edited by Rocket, 22 January 2016 - 10:06 PM.

[xEva]

ImmortalSpace is right to point out that a lot of things nowadays fall under 'stress', like exercise. We can add fasting and steamroom/sauna too, but clearly those are enjoyable, health-extending activities that can hardly be called 'stressful'.

From what I've seem the stress that is indeed aging comes with very negative emotions such as despair/hopelessness, helplessness, outrage/anger (at injustice or perceived offence), fear/horror, pain, etc. This is 'true stress' and can age one practically overnight -- which is supported by very old yet persistent throughout the world stories about persons going grey overnight after a particularly horrid event.

Curiously, recently I came across an info (can't remember where, though) that oxytocin can be used as an antistress hormone that can rescue one from that downward emotional spiral out of which is so hard to get out once you get in. I guess that's one of the reasons why sex is touted as anti-stress activity -- oxytocin is released in the process and the way I understand it, it turns the escalating negative emotions off. It'd be nice to confirm this idea though. Anyone else came across it too? If so, please share a ref

[Dufte]

I'm not aware of any good evidence for what I'm about to say, so this is just all very speculative on my part but: I know that it is commonly believed by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists that repeated facial expressions can lead to chronic facial lines and wrinkles. Surely smiling must be one of the most common expressions that induces intense acute facial lines and wrinkles. So perhaps smiling could be bad for aesthetic aging? Perhaps having an animated face, which might be associated with happiness and lower stress, could in general be bad? Whereas a blank, low energy type of face, which might be more associated with stress/anxiety/low mood, may actually be beneficial for facial aging?

 

I have to disagree a bit. Just coming from my assumptions that is.

 

Ive had a lot of diseases, still do some, the tl;dr is that Ive realized (with the many diseases) that stress X can trigger disease X to flare up.(Doctors do say avoid stress after all)

Now just let that sink in for a bit, your mood fucks up something biological, so why not the skin too, or muscles, etc. Its not that far-fetched once you are able to believe that your mental health can do that.

So there goes issue 1, the skin and its looks, be that old, broken, or whatever.

 

Issue 2 would be wrinkles, the way our mind works is that when youre feeling a feeling, you will express it with your face, therefore with your muscles.

And being in a feeling is kind of like being in a trance, so what if theres a problem that causes you to feel the emotion anger for example, and the correspondenting muscles tense up, but the problem doesnt dissolve and you stay in that trance? Shouldnt the muscles then keep staying tensed up?

Its actually a really interesting concept since due to my cousins ex-wife(who did chinese medicine and massages) kept finding the very same muscles tensed up in each individual client that came back for more.

So why not in the face too.

 

Also I do have to say that Im using some weirdo technique to get rid of some feelings, which however also unearthens some that were hidden. And when I worked on something with a lot of anger inside, the facial features of someone being angry started appearing on my face.

 

Just my 2 cents for this topic.

[EFTANG]

Aging is IMO determined for a large part by your genes. Next, your lifestyle and diet. Look at your parents and grandparents - most likely you'll age the same way they did.

 

Stress (physical, mental, environmental, chemical, etc.) affects your immune system in a very bad way, so you'll probably be sick more than average, which has a negative effect on how you age and the overall condition of your body.

 

Everything that is out of the ordinary is considered 'stress'. An urban life-style, taking medication, having to meet deadlines, doing intense workouts - it's all stress. You have to compensate that to keep your immune system optimal, because your immune system is the main cornerstone of your health and well-being, which in turn determines how you age to a certain extent. 

 

I assume you're still in your 20s. In general people in their 20s all look young and relatively 'ageless'. The differences in how you age really start showing after you've turned 35 / 40. Your immune system starts to get sloppy then, your life will have changed (you usually have settled in a career of whatever nature, maybe you'll have a family / children then). This also affects how you age.

Edited by Vlad, 03 February 2016 - 09:34 AM.

[Never_Ending]

I somewhat disagree with this... stress might not age people THAT much but it seems like it does to a degree.

 

Stress in very small doses might be good but only to the extent that makes people very alert.

 

Say a person is 30 and looks 30 but has had a Ton of stress.  Who knows if that person could have looked younger had things been different ..... that's the issue with such examples

 

 

 

Edited by Never_Ending, 08 February 2016 - 08:56 PM.