Dear LPG

Statistics can indeed be viewed from many perspectives, and when viewed analytically, the exact figures can offer different people varying conclusions. They can offer widely varying amounts of encouragement and depression, but they can also provide serious amounts of enlightenment if you look.  

I found a few that woke me up more than anything else, and I thought they were worth sharing. The UK census has been happening every ten years for as long as I can remember, much longer than we have existed. 

We can all agree that age is relative. When you reach your mid-seventies, there is no doubt about it, you are old. However, although I have passed that milestone, and my knees, hips, and back and my increasing need to consult my doctor tell me that things are slowing down, I don’t feel any older than I did when I was in my thirties.  

Like many other pensioners, I keep busy, and after I retired, my empty days soon became filled with all sorts of activities that I had never dreamed I would be involved in.  Then, I very quickly forced myself to have a new set of friends.  It is hard for some to work out what to do with so much free time, but it is not the case for everyone.

Despite all that, statistics dictate that I am now pretty old. Had I been born even 200 years ago, the likelihood of getting this far would have been relatively remote. I found some statistics that show the average life lasted only 50 years in the 1850s. I find statistics interesting, but some can be depressing, depending on your age.  

It gets worse… I looked at what is killing us; according to the census statistics, things have changed over the past 100 years. Heart problems seem to be pretty near the top of the list when it comes to older men, and dementia appears to be getting to us ladies, but depression was not featured at all.  I have concluded that it has to be for one of two reasons.  Either it is unquantifiable or always creeps in as a by-product of every situation we find ourselves a part of to some degree.

There is a long list of things we can do to combat most of the illnesses on the list I mentioned, and many of those suggestions are similar and pretty predictable. We also know that clog popping is ultimately inevitable for all of us, but minimising our susceptibility to this disorder has got to give us a chance of significantly delaying that day. We all know this, but many of us never get around to doing it (perhaps because our depression gets in the way). 

Having depressingly examined the figures, the most important thing is to remind yourself how to work through it. It is not easy, but I wanted to share a few videos that have helped me when I am not feeling so positive. Sometimes, especially if you think no one can help, they can be helpful.

NH, Catford.

NH found us some statistics…

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… and a few suggestions for getting out of it…

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