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Ageing

Photo of an elderly man sitting on a chair surrounded by various ornate coffins in a room with a chequered floor.

Death and dying

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As a society, we’re not death phobic, we’re death complacent

Our culture is routinely diagnosed with an excessive fear of mortality. A calm look at the evidence tells a different story

by Ingemar Patrick Linden

A portrait of a woman with powdered hair wearing a silk dress, lace collar, black choker, and a pink ribbon, seated against a dark background.

The body and physical health

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Menopause was a French invention at a time of revolution

French doctors of the 1800s had a vested interest in pathologising women’s ageing, as do many commercial entities today

by Alison M Downham Moore

Two women painting together at a table. The one in the foreground is older, wears glasses and is focused on her brushstroke.

Brain injury and dementia

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Dementia is not a death. For some, it marks a new beginning

Advocates are reframing the syndrome as a different way of being – one in which potential for growth and connection endures

by Isabel Sutton

Three senior male cyclists in racing outfits sit on chairs, each wearing a helmet and cycling shoes, resting between races. The cyclist on the left wears a white and light blue kit, the middle one wears a teal and yellow kit, and the cyclist on the right wears a blue and yellow kit.

Ageing

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Rather than fearing getting old, here’s how to embrace it

Whether you are 20 or 90, each moment of life presents an opportunity to focus on what really matters to you

by Berit Lewis

Close-up of elderly hands clasped together, with prominent wrinkles, wearing an orange jumper with dark brown trim.

Ageing

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Efforts to expand the lifespan ignore what it’s like to get old

As modern medicine extends the human lifespan, quality of life is not keeping up, raising thorny ethical dilemmas

by Robert S Gable

A photo of a child in a red dress running on a wooden bridge with adults walking in the background under a clear sky.

Ageing

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Simone de Beauvoir recommends we fight for ourselves as we age

Old age, for Simone de Beauvoir, is not shameful or frightening but should be celebrated as an opportunity to be authentic

by Skye C Cleary

Photo of a cake with ten extinguished candles and smoke rising, set against a dark background on a decorated table.

The body and physical health

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Knowing your true age requires more than a swab and calendar

How the concept of ‘age mosaicism’ from cellular biology is challenging our notions of chronological and biological age

by Marco J Nathan

Photo of two people on a bench overlooking a sunny seaside with trees casting shadows on grass and a stone balustrade.

Ageing

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Older people are battling despair, but Erikson offers us hope

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a mental toll on older people. The psychoanalyst Erik Erikson offers a way out of our despair

by Jane Adams

Photo of an older woman in a straw hat holding a doll in a park with another person embracing her from behind.

Ageing

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The radical impact of seeing Alzheimer’s as a second childhood

Even if the retrogenesis model isn’t strictly true, seeing Alzheimer’s as a second childhood impacts radically on patient care

by Han Yu

Photo of two people outdoors in winter clothing with sun rays surrounding them. One person wears glasses. Bright sky in background.

Ageing

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How I met my mother: dementia brought back her true self

In dementia, my mother lived with the friendly ghosts of her past – and I got to know her as someone other than just my mum

by Ina Kjøgx Pedersen