Ageing

Now that I am getting older, I feel most secure in the comfort of my own home. Outside, things are changing all the time and it seem there are new things going on every day that I simply do not understand anymore. It has become more and more difficult for me to learn new things or to understand how stuff works. But I do still enjoy the regular things in life, such as meeting up with friends or going to a nice restaurant. I still like to go shopping from time to time and of course I need to make trips to the supermarket or to local services as well. But I am not the person that I used to be and things are not as easy as before.

For example, I get tired more quickly. When I am at home, I can rest when I need to. So when going out, it is important for me to be able to sit down from time to time, and to be able to hold on to something when I go up or down stairs. Or when I need to use the bathroom or when I want to try something on in a clothing shop. My walk is not as steady or stable as before but I can still manage. Some of my friends use wheelchairs or walkers now. Although they use these things out of convenience and for more support, it seems that they have more difficulty to get around than even me! There is simply not enough space for their equipment in some places. Sometimes they need to wait outside of shops while I browse inside, or they cannot sit at the same table as me in some restaurants. Sometimes they even need to leave their expensive equipment aside unguarded because they cannot enter or maneuver with it. With people living longer and reaching a higher age than before, it becomes more and more important to take old age into account when designing places and products.

It is difficult on someone to go from a young and independent healthy person to being aware of your body’s limits and being confronted with everything you cannot do anymore. When you have to let go of that independence, it causes certain frustrations. I need to ask for help more quickly than before. Things that I would not have questioned when I was younger require more thought and preparation now. Simply going outside whenever I please is just not possible anymore. Going to new places or being confronted with a changed environment requires some additional effort from me. It is especially difficult if I enter a new place and I need to find my way around that place. Also when familiar places change, such as a service centre that changes location or something, it is always a new challenge to get to know the place and the people. It is not always clear to an older person such as myself how everything is organized.

With age, my senses have weakened and I do not see as clearly as before. Information is shared in different ways these days but a lot of things are on screens, online or on your mobile phone. What is frustrating is that it is not always clear to me where I can find the information that I need. I do not have a computer or a mobile phone so I tend to stick to information boards, pamphlets or human interaction. Written information is difficult sometimes because letters are too small to read and I do not understand all of the modern vocabulary. The same goes for signs and directions. These should be immediately noticeable when you enter a building and they should be properly lit and in big clear letters.

In some places, like the train station, certain information is communicated through the speakers. But I don’t hear as well anymore either, and it goes by so fast that I sometimes completely miss what they were saying. Because of my lower hearing, I do not like crowded or loud places anymore. Sometimes, the acoustics are so bad that I can hardly hear myself speak. This makes conversations too difficult and tiring. Also, I do not hear as well as I used to, so I need to strain myself more to try to understand other people. When I ask something in a shop or at a desk somewhere, I can tell that people try to speak more clearly from the start. I suppose they see an old person and immediately assume that I am hard of hearing. But if the acoustics would be better in those places, I would not have to ask the same question several times and let myself be thought of as a needy person.

I would like to be able to do things myself for as long as possible. For example, I would prefer to be able to try on clothes by myself, or use the bathroom independently. Such things are part of feeling a whole and normal person. Of course I have lovely people in my environment that help me out when they have to, but I do realize that it is also a strain on them to assist me in daily tasks. Improved accessibility would help me – and by extension also my entourage and everyone else that is getting older – to enjoy the outside more. Feeling independent and as a part of public life is important for everyone’s personal wellbeing.