Comment on Discussion Thread š¦ Wednesday 19 November 2025
SituationCake@aussie.zone āØ1ā© āØdayā© agoI like to think that when Iām old enough I will heed any advice that I should stop driving, if I havenāt already voluntary realised it myself. But, with the number of cases I hear of elderly people believing they are fine to drive when they are clearly not, I wonder if some kind of self awareness problem happens in old age? Yes some are narcissists but they canāt all be, can they? Will my brain become selfish and dumb when Iām old? I really really hope not. I donāt want to be that person. Anyway, hope the vicroads testing sorts out the MIL and gets her off the road. Safer for everyone.
RustyRaven@aussie.zone āØ1ā© āØdayā© ago
There are definitely awareness problems with age, especially with dementia. Thereās even a word for it, anosognosia. Itās one reason a lot of peopleās plans for old age donāt work out, they assume they will have the capacity to recognise when they need to make changes, whether that be stopping driving, not climbing ladders or going into aged care. And because our society values being able to make your own choices we allow people to cause a lot of damage to themselves and others before we allow anyone else to step in and start making decision.
Some people of course do use denial as a coping strategy through their whole lives, and that can also be a cause of refusing to admit being unable to do things. It doesnāt help that our society sees aging as a bad thing and has a lot of prejudice against the elderly, people would not feel as much need to deny their own aging if it was seen as a more positive thing.