Successful aging is a psychological feat. Fear for __1__
: m8 C' g/ }! N$ T( `# M" ^6 ~+ ~ death, for example, may sometimes oppress you.5 a2 v8 R3 P; @: l# L
even when this is successfully overcome, there is still
! q* y( e8 x1 n' S% G something for you to deal with-loneliness. Loneliness
f {, R% V; e# T* ?0 m4 Z, T can speed your demise no matter conscientiously __2__( w2 m' F2 u4 X
you care for your body. “We go through life surrounded
0 G y! A7 j* y by protective convoys of others,” says Robert
. F3 W% j0 e3 m4 ] Kahn, a psychologist of the University of Michigan
1 \& F$ h7 r# r7 F9 t who studied the health effects of companionship. “People __3__
* O+ H% v3 u6 f( g' O9 |7 Y0 t6 R) q who manage to maintain a network of social support do, _& M- P H8 z3 M$ |9 S
best.” One study of elderly heart-attack patients
+ l, L" Y, c1 A. | found that those with two or more close associations __4__
1 j& u b0 P7 Q! W- @" H enjoyed twice the one-year survival rate of those who
8 G* j' e' A8 k* q were completely alone./ N9 t m% v6 Q3 z% F, j. j
Companionship aside, healthy oldsters seem to
" c0 C' h7 h; C- i- j7 c8 P/ D share a knack for managing stress, poison that contributes __5__2 { }. U; W2 L2 t) y |1 a* ?1 y/ n
measurably to heart disease, cancer and accidents.
% [8 x2 [4 Z( Q! \ Researchers have also been kinked successful aging __6__. C% e/ h# \0 y
to mental stimulation. An idle brain will deteriorate
& H/ c, @6 i* E5 B5 _ just as sure as an unused leg, notes Dr. Gene Cohen, __7__, `8 Y* J t3 b9 O# A
Head of the gerontology center at George Washington3 A/ V, w, m9 ~1 l# w
University. But just as exercise can prevent muscle __8__
; C6 l4 u5 y% M- {4 }% Q atrophy, mental challenges seem to preserve both3 f8 `9 Z2 N. Q" F
the mind and the immune system. But what most( w4 Z2 b4 d9 m4 w: I/ Z. J
impresses researchers who study the oldest old is6 l6 ? V6 H A' ^1 ~! _- C
his simple drive and resilience. “People who reach 100 __9__) z7 P6 i7 Y a: Q* T6 T/ A( L
are not quitters,” says Adler of the National Centenarian3 S8 N; {5 ^. {$ |
Awareness Project. “They share a remarkable ability to
+ U4 e/ ?/ s n: h5 H# M% Y3 U renegotiate life in every turn, to accept the inevitable losses __10__
6 @7 Y+ h/ g. _3 @4 R5 ]" Y And move on.” |