Gaming. I’m in my 30s and the 30s was the age bracket I’ve heard where few can carry on gaming through, because it has a tendency to die here. I piss away so much time doing other things that gaming just takes a backseat. I’m not even married or have kids.
Pimples. My dad did warn me I’d have inherited his bad skin and have to deal with it for way, WAY longer than other people but come on.
Maintaining relationships with distant (geographic) friends. Everyone moves around going about their life, you slowly lose contact. Not intentional, “I’ll text later” and so on and next thing you know it’s been months or years.
Ugh, I first noticed this in my twenties when so many of the friends who I thought were going to be single their entire lives not only started dating but settled down a lot faster than I expected
Somehow I’m always the one left behind from all this. Used to think that I would get used to it as I got older, but now it’s like the opposite is happening and nothing kills your “game” like the stink of desperation
That’s why old people are on Facebook- so we know who’s who at the weddings and funerals.
I assumed most things would get more difficult as I age. Turns out I was correct.
The only thing that is easier is building something from a box of scraps. It’s harder to see and my hands aren’t quite as nimble but I have a boat-load of experience.
So much learned over a lifetime!! I love the giant bucket of weird knowledge and skills that I’ve accumulated in 50+ years!
Tinkering with electronics, it was easy when we had through-holes and young eyes, now with SMD and presbyopia it is pretty hard.
Tolerating people.
This! Oddly the more socially confident I’ve got with age, the more draining and annoying I find social hangouts and noise 😅 Not having to interact with anyone the whole day is bliss (at least in-person, I don’t mind reading/writing on these forums).
The big driver for my socialization used to be, “I want this person to like me,” and it gave me a lot of motivation to interact and also gave me a goal, “how do I get this person to like me?” All subconsciously, of course.
I’m struggling to come up with another reason to socialize, especially with people who are still playing that game.
Find people for a specific thing you want to do. For example, people to comfortably talk about important shit with (the confidants), people to do activities together (the RPG party members), and people to send memes and just hang out with casually (the couch crew).
Pro tip: when looking for a life partner, you should ideally both be able to fulfill all three roles at different times and enjoy it
Kayaking. Mountain biking.
For the first I know I have the skills and have run some III-IVs this year. But I don’t chase them as I did 10 years ago, and frankly am scared of them. My upper body has gotten weak quite quickly and I’ve lost my roll. Used to love playboating and freestyle. Haven’t put my playboat on moving water in 4 years. My half slice scares me on eddy lines and I’m thinking of selling it.
For the second, I just can’t seem to climb anything anymore. Oddly enough I’m doing more park stuff than ever though. Lots of drops and gap jumps.
I had COVID a few years ago and I think a lot of this stuff is lingering effects. I am seeing a rheumatologist but nothing has really pulled me out yet.
I’m 56
Look into LDN, very low dose naltrexone. It’s cheap cheap and sometimes can help a lot with long COVID, inflammatory diseases.
Ask your rheumatologist if lifting weights can help. Compound movements, deadlifts, bench press, overhead press, and squats, will go a long way.
I always thought there would be at least something that wasn’t a struggle, but here we are
It amazes me how much it takes just to manage various aspects of life. You add in work and oof its like you feel like your constantly getting behind on things.
Not that it was unexpected, just the sheer scope of the difficulty was underestimated in: changing habits, muscles growth, body pains, energy levels, need for sleep…
All that common stuff you hear old folks gripe about. It doesn’t come from nowhere. Build healthy habits early and keep them consistent.
I never expected to have lower back pain in my late 30s. And it was pretty quick too. Within 3 years, I went from playing casual basketball a couple of times a week to not playing at all.
You are in your 30’s talking about getting older? GTFO.
You hit middle age in your 30’s.
Honestly? I didn’t think I’d make it past 20, so the last decade-ish has been just kind of taking it in. I had no concept of “getting older” and I know I should but even now it’s still hard to grasp.
I’m pleasantly surprised I’ve kept my joy for gaming, though. And I have cats, which I didn’t think would happen. So I guess accepting that I’m still alive, somehow, is the hardest part.
Caffeine addiction. I was so leery of it and swore I’d never get hooked. Now the best I can manage is to detox once a year but before six months have gone by I’m back on the train.
Two cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduces the risk of dementia: https://youtu.be/gy0FW6xj21o
I have two cups of caffeinated in the morning, and then switch to decaf the rest of the day. Maybe that would work for you.
Two cups of caffeinated coffee a day reduces the risk of dementia:
I read that as diarrhea the first time and was preparing charts and graphs
Drink more coffee boss
I’m trying, Jefe. Just, you know, diarrhea.
I really don’t get caffeine addiction. I realize it’s a problem for a lot of people, but here I am drinking loads of coffee, and then in the weekends none at all, even on vacation not for weeks at all. I guess it’s wierd how bodies are wired differently. My struggle is weight though, I was a way too skinny kid who became a fat adult.
Seeing.
I had perfect vision until I hit 40. Suddenly at 40 and about 6 months, i needed reading glasses. By the time I hit fifty, I had developed astigmatism and a full inability to read in low light. From perfect to jank in less than a decade was a shock.
Sleep
Why the hell do I sleep for 2 to 3 hours wake up then struggle to go back to sleep. It started when I hit 50 (56 now) and I’m lucky to get 4 hours of sleep on any given night. Once in a great while I’ll get 6 and once 7.5 hours (that felt great).
The funny thing is I have no problem falling asleep when I go to bed. It’s only when I wake up in the middle of the night that the problem starts.
It’s driving me nuts.
Yes, I’m doing my research and did learn that older adults have issues with sleep. Which really does not seem fair. I’m actually jealous of how my teenage boys sleep.
I watch episodes of Star Trek before going to sleep often just falling asleep to them. The nice thing about Star Trek is it ranges from good to bad so you get a bit of everything. Also I’m not 50 so your results might vary.
I have a tablet next to my bed. I suppose a phone would world, too. Usually, when I wake up around 3, I can get back to sleep, but sometimes, not. Then, I pick an article on https://aeon.co/ and start reading. They’re long articles about things I mostly don’t care about. That has me yawning in no time, and clears my mind.
Usually works, not always.
The biggest barrier to my love for gaming is actually that I’ve drifted away from my friends.
Ideological and locational differences have isolated me from the few people I did play with and now it feels hollow to spin up a Minecraft world because what I do alone will never be as fulfilling as building megastructures as a community. The world of Valheim loses it’s glow when you’re alone in a boat made for 6. The tedious grind of Warframe is a soul crushing slog without the banter of a dedicated fire team. Even games played alone are bitter sweet. I finally have the ability to pay through every Pokemon game legitimately and have no one to trade Pokemon with. Even my character gets a recurring rival to test his growth.
