WHAT WORRIES YOU MOST ABOUT THE FUTURE   

Now let’s review what is bothering you most  with your fears, what you would not like to happen 
 
Listed below are some common fears 
 
Things that happen 
         Rate your concern from 
1, “ well if it happens it happens” through to
5 ”I dread this happening and try not to think about it”
You can have more than one 5 , they might all be 5s
  • Heart attack 

  • Dementia 

  • Not being able to go out by myself

  • Cancer 

  • Not being able to get to the toilet in time and needing social care

  • Stroke 

  • Being in a home

  • Parkinson’s disease 

  • Being a burden for my children 

Write down other issues that make you anxious or depressed about the 80s and beyond 
 
So how does the table look, how many fives did you have. Now let us look at the potential for preventing or delaying the problems you fear  

Heart attack 
The risk can be reduced significantly 

Dementia 
There are two common causes of about equal importance; one of them – Alzheimer’s disease cannot be prevented – but is now agreed that other causes of dementia can be prevented, and the risk of dementia can be reduced

Not being able to go out by myself
This sometimes occurs as the direct result of a single condition, such as a stroke, but is also for many people the result of years of loss of fitness due to inactivity and is therefore preventable; so too is the loss of the driving licence if you keep kit and keep your vision sharp

Cancer 
Some cancers are prevented by taking action after the age of sixty, including the offer of screening. Cancer is now a treatable condition.

Not being able to get to the toilet in time and needing social care 
Urgency, the sensation that you need to go quickly is treatable, and the time you take to get there ,whether or not you have urgency is also a factor that is under your ability to control because it, like your ability to get out and about is usually due to a progressive loss of fitness from inactivity 

Stroke 
The risk of stroke can be reduced at any age 

Being in a home
The risk of being admitted to a home can be reduced by reducing the risk of the common diseases that lead to admission, stroke or dementia for example, and keeping physically, mentally and socially fit 

Parkinson’s disease 
This is not a preventable condition so you need a bit of luck to avoid it, and good treatment if you do to limit its effects 

Being a burden for my children 
To do this you do need, as for all these problems a little bit of luck, but by taking all the steps to prevent the common causes of severe disability you should be able to continue helping them into your 80s and 90s

Other things you want to avoid 
There are many problems that occur the longer people live, not because they are caused by ageing but because they are the result of living longer in a particular environment or in a particular way. But the impact of the  most common causes of disability and dependence on others , conditions like arthritis for example, can be either delayed or made less severe and we give the information you need in the relevant parts of the programme. 

 
As you can see most of the things we fear can, in the words of NICE, the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence “prevent or delay [the] onset” of “dementia, disability and frailty”. NICE produced guidance for the NHS, and the public, after reviewing all the scientific evidence. So, what is next? The answer is to set your objectives and that is the next stage of your plan for Living Longer Better