Ask Lemmy

There's a lot of great advice in here, so here's something a little more obscure - Get. The. Shingles. Vaccine.

Most insurance won't cover it until you're 50. Pay for it out of pocket.

I had the shingles at 40. It's a close 2nd for the most pain I've ever been in. (For comparison, 1st place goes to the time I took a training sword to the eye. It squished my eye down and smacked into the back of the socket. Nearly lost that eye.)

It's the same virus as chickenpox. A herpes variant like cold sores, once you've caught it, it's with you forever.

You'll get huge, burning blisters all along the pathway of whichever nerve the virus has taken residence on. And some nerves go to quite sensitive places indeed. The pain is akin to a hot iron pressed unceasingly to your skin. For weeks.

For me, it was the right side of my face and neck. I developed Bell's Palsy and couldn't move the right side of my face at all. Though my facial control eventually came back, I've lost some hearing in my right ear.

It's cheap at any price - Get vaccinated.

It is fucking horrible. If you don't get that, you're living in a different century.

Advice on what?

Always remind your children that the older you get, the less that “life in prison” is a deterrent.

if you're not careful, turning 50 can mentally fuck you up.

Nothing at all about you has changed. You'll just notice yourself being slightly less stable as you bend over to pick things up.

Get yourself checked for cancer.

Warm up and stretch. This is the decade where you start to lose your flexibility.

Analyze your limitations. We all think we're Superman sometimes. We're not.

Taking care of yourself will pay off, literally if you are in the U.S. and subject to our horrible healthcare.

It's easy to lapse into a sedentary lifestyle -- don't do it. The couch is not your friend.

I'm well old enough to be your daddy. Here are some things you should pay attention to.

Have a reason to get up every day you can breathe. Because if you have no reason to, you will wither and die. I've seen it happen and it ain't pretty.

Time will seem to accelerate. You will slowly start to notice that the "past" gets farther behind you quicker and the "now" flies by to become that "past" and the "future" gets here far too soon.

Like it or not, you are getting closer every day to dying rather than living no matter what you do. Make your peace with that concept because no one gets out alive.

Buy a nice suit. You will probably be going to the weddings of the children of your friends or your own children. And far more sadly, the funerals of family and friends. And at some point in time, the funerals will out number the weddings.

Start doing things for society. Get involved in your community. Help build a park or two or three, teach kids something - I spent 4 years tutoring/teaching math to kids in a small rural school during COVID. It did cost me some health, (Thanks! long COVID), but it was worth everything it cost and I would do it all over again. Those kids did more for me than I could do for them.

Physical exercise is great but don't forget to exercise the mind also. Because if you don't, you will lose cognition and the ability to think perhaps faster than your physical health - and this is my greatest fear. Cultivate hobbies that stimulate mental challenges. And a diet of video games ain't it. Go fishing, bird watching, gardening, do art. Something, anything, that challenges the mind to solve problems and be creative. I design and build metal model steam engines and 3D printed items to try and keep my mind sharp. I try to learn new skills every chance I get.

As much as it might be fun to travel the world and see new places and people, there is a whole world to explore right outside your door. Go explore it and really learn the details of it. It will surprise you with it's beauty and complexity. You don't need to be rich to explore the world.

Teach something to someone. You know things - pass it on to others. Do not let the knowledge die with you.

Learn to laugh at yourself - do not fear looking silly. It can help make people feel more comfortable with you and with themselves.

And finally, live a good life. Be kind and be there for the world when it needs you. Leave a legacy for others to remember you by - even if it was only a kind word at the right time. The memory of you is all the world will have - leave your mark on it.

Good Luck! We all need it!

My super secret tip: for every little ache and pain - get a doc to give you an Rx to a physical therapist. It might turn out to be nothing, might turn into something worse - either way PTs are awesome magic workers. I will elaborate:

• Drs are mostly limited to two things, surgery or an Rx (ok maybe a few other things).
• PTs can't do those, but they can use stretching, massage, electro stimulation, exercise, and all sorts of practical, cheap methods to make you feel better.
• (In the US at least) medical plan PT allocations are designed for the elderly when they break a hip. So there are usually a ton of free (or very subsidized) sessions in your plan. Way more than you'd need in a year, even if you do break something at 40.
• They know the mechanics of the human body in a practical way that no doc has ever learned at school. I call it PT magic. Hey, your shoulder hurts, do this leg hammy stretch, voila and your shoulder feels better.
• I can also share some of my other personal training goals (don't be fat, don't die early) and it's like having a subsidized personal trainer. And one better than any you could get at the gym.

This might be the best Lemmy thread I've seen so far.