Aging - toward Wisdom, Self-realization

     In an excellent NY Times article (Dec 19, 2012), Judith Graham summarized several recent studies which suggest that "age stereotypes ... can have an important effect on seniors’ health.
     When stereotypes are negative — when seniors are convinced becoming old means becoming useless, helpless or devalued — they are less likely to seek preventive medical care and die earlier, and more likely to suffer memory loss and poor physical functioning, a growing body of research shows.
     When stereotypes are positive — when older adults view age as a time of wisdom, self-realization and satisfaction — results point in the other direction, toward a higher level of functioning."

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/19/older-people-are-what-they-think-study-shows/