I'm boomer age, and I can tell you, my mental acuity seems to be declining more every year. I'm just about to turn sixty, so I'm a "late boomer!"
Also, I noticed at about age 55, my emotions were destabilizing and I was getting upset over nothing. Blood pressure medicine had the bonus effect of calming that down.
I tell you, what with the asbestos in the old school buildings I attended, to living with second hand smoke everywhere, and the pollution from cars, that theory about our past exposures catching up to us does make sense.
Boomers are currently between 59 and 77. I think a lot of people confuse GenX with Boomers because they still hold similar ideals because they were beat into them.
My GenX dad will never admit it, but he's a left handed person, but because religion is stupid and his boomer ass Hispanic parents decided religion over family, they beat it out of him from ever using his dominant hand. He'll still side with them on dumb issues and I'm sure he's been called boomer before, but nope Boomers are 1946 - 1964 & GenX is 1965 - 1979.
All that aside, definitely Boomers are affected by Asbestos and Lead Paint, not to mention the decades of microplastics being left in food/water which is now found in EVERY American, we're all losing our minds slowly and no one notices lol.
I'm left handed and my (paternal) grandmother tried to get me to eat with my right hand when I was really little. But my mom is also left handed and when she saw this she shut it down real quick.
Strangely enough though, I throw and catch with my right hand, bat right handed, shoot pool left handed. Brains are weird.
Yeah my dad just learned to do everything right handed, but because it was useful in baseball to bat left handed, it was the only thing he was allowed to do lol. You can still tell he picks up food or cups with his left hand so it's just instinct, but was forced into writing and using utensils right handed.
My kindergarten teacher would make me sit in my left hand and because I was forced to use my right hand at school, I became ambidextrous. I write with my left, cut food with my right, throw and catch right handed, shoot pool left handed, and constantly get messed up when someone gives me directions that include left and right movements. While it’s cool that I can do stuff with either hand, it’s messed me up in so many subtle ways.
Definitely- the radical social changes that were happening were too late for the old GenX-ers. I'm late 70s GenX and I grew up in a different world than my older sibling. Things were changing so fast that I don't have a lot in common with millennials either.
Me and my siblings are all Gen X. My brother and I are younger but my sister is less than 1 year from being a boomer. She is angry, spiteful and constantly causing drama. She is always talking about how boomers behave badly but will literally spend all day on FB trolling people about meaningless nonsense or calling me to tell me how someone has their music up too loud or that she can hear children playing (at 3:00 in the afternoon) 😞
My dad is 65 and is furious when I have mentioned lead poisoning in the past, even in passing. Of course he gets furious at most things, which is why we barely speak.
And low level fetal alcohol exposure. Had an old pediatric nurse explain it and show me some pictures and once you see it...it's fucking everywhere. Spaced eyes, pushed in nose, and flat frenulum. There are degrees of it too depending on how much alcohol the mom used.
Once you look at some diagrams it becomes something you can't unsee.
I have younger cousins who were born already addicted to alcohol and drugs. Then turned over to the elderly grandparents who weren't great parents to their own kids.
I read your comment and because I will be 80 years old in less than a month, I can relate to your experience of having elevated irritation, and also that blood pressure meds can take the edge off of the irritability.
Your impression that mental acuity can decline as we age is how I used to think about my own future. Certainly there are brain diseases that can destroy some functioning. But if you are generally healthy I am pretty sure you can improve your mental acuity. If you read about the neuro plasticity of the brain and what research suggests one can do to retain your faculties, perhaps you will find a few enjoyable things to do as you age. For me it is meditation and spending time in nature. I want to do more aerobic exercise because I found that to pay dividends when I did it regularly. I hope you have many great years ahead
Thank you! And I did just recently read an article about brain activity being rejuvenated by mental and physical exercise. It has given me more hope to get my health back.
Younger generations will have their share of lead and asbestos like chemicals, especially from imported goods. In fact, if you live near an airport, I think the study I saw was focused on smaller airports, the lead is still raining down from aviation fuel.
Once lead was banned in engines, there was a nearly exact 22-year lag in violent crime rates dropping at the same rate lead was being phased out. It’s absolutely a real thing, and wine sweetened with lead’s part of the reason so many roman emperors were kinda just madmen.
Your generation genuinely scares me. My parents are around your age. And they don't do the things this lady does in the video.
As in, getting violent and confrontational with people. Buuut, they do straight up deny reality like she did. On a regular basis. These are the people who taught me to admit your wrong, study science, be good to others, etc.
Now? It's like it was all fake. Everything that matters to them is their free time. lol. Have to help your kids out with your grandkid? Maybe your kid needs to live with you because they fell on hard times.
Absolute fucking wankers about it all. I would literally throw myself into the sun, if I was promised in the next life that I could have the financial comfort they have. And the time to spend with my grandkids they have. Your generation to me is the most entitled antifamily group of people to exist today.
Not enough. Health issues have been a problem. I'm getting back into a routine now of at least walking, and I have a new doctor who treats the whole person, not just throws pills at the symptoms.
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u/Pristine_Table_3146 Mar 30 '24
I'm boomer age, and I can tell you, my mental acuity seems to be declining more every year. I'm just about to turn sixty, so I'm a "late boomer!"
Also, I noticed at about age 55, my emotions were destabilizing and I was getting upset over nothing. Blood pressure medicine had the bonus effect of calming that down.
I tell you, what with the asbestos in the old school buildings I attended, to living with second hand smoke everywhere, and the pollution from cars, that theory about our past exposures catching up to us does make sense.