Getting Older/Happier every minute...

Lynda over at Pixilated Too posted a very interesting article the other day on Facebook from the NY Times. A Gallup poll of more than 340,000 people nationwide, ages 18 to 85, were asked various questions.

Did you experience the following feelings during a large part of the day yesterday: enjoyment, happiness, stress, worry, anger, sadness?

The results were good news for old people, and for those who are getting old. That would be ME! I'm on the road to old, haven't reached the town yet but definately on the road.

The survey said, "People start out at age 18 feeling pretty good about themselves, and then, apparently, life begins to throw curve balls. They feel worse and worse until they hit 50. At that point, there is a sharp reversal, and people keep getting happier as they age. By the time they are 85, they are even more satisfied with themselves than they were at 18."

"The researchers found that stress declines from age 22 onward, reaching its lowest point at 85. Worry stays fairly steady until 50, then sharply drops off. Anger decreases steadily from 18 on, and sadness rises to a peak at 50, declines to 73, then rises slightly again to 85. Enjoyment and happiness have similar curves: they both decrease gradually until we hit 50, rise steadily for the next 25 years, and then decline very slightly at the end, but they never again reach the low point of our early 50s."

So if you are feeling a little grumpy, a little down...or if that storm cloud just keeps hanging around dumping on your parade...things are gonna get better. There are some things that improve with age.. cheese, wine and attitude!