To help reduce the power of ageist messages and strengthen a more positive understanding of aging, Yale researcher Becca Levy, PhD, developed the ABC method, which she shares in her book, Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long and Well You Live.
A: Raise awareness.
Most people don’t realize they are being exposed to so many ageist messages. “It’s so omnipresent in advertising and different sources, and people don’t recognize they’re being exposed,” she says. “It’s not always easy to notice them.”
Start paying attention to how aging is presented in the shows you watch, the advertising you encounter, even in conversations with friends and family. Notice when aging is presented as something shameful or silly, and consider whether there’s a more positive way to frame it.
B: Place blame where it’s due.
This step involves recognizing the negative impact of ageism. “When an older person encounters challenges, it’s not always due to aging itself but due to societal ageism that is creating barriers,” Levy says. “Recognizing the source of challenges is really important.”
So, if you want to do something but feel like you’re too old — or if you judge someone else as too old to be doing what they’re doing — where is that feeling coming from? Who and what is telling you that?
C: Challenge the popular narrative.
Find ways to reframe negative age beliefs. We can do this for ourselves and for our communities. Consider whether your words are contributing to positive or negative messages about aging. Start telling people they look great instead of young. Question your friends when they say they’re too old for something. Seek out stories that celebrate the wisdom of elders rather than the comedy of decline.
“One of the things I’ve advocated for is an age-liberation movement where we are working together to overcome society’s ageism,” Levy says. “Until that happens, it’s good to think about the individual skills to help us identify and question negative age beliefs.”
(For more advice on responding to ageism, see “What to Do When You’re Confronted by Ageism.”
A Second Look at Middle Age
Move over, midlife crisis — it’s time for the midlife convergence. Experts explain why midlife is an ideal time for becoming stronger, wiser, and more authentically yourself. For more, see “Midlife, Reimagined,” from which this article was excerpted.
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