How women feel about aging: Women in their 30s and 40s share their views

Aging is a fact of life, yet many women tend to feel more societal pressure to look youthful. That’s evidenced by the billion-dollar beauty industry with countless options of skin care products and in-office treatments that promise to diminish fine lines and wrinkles, fade dark spots, and give you firmer skin. While products and treatments can help to a certain degree, one cannot expect to look 20 at 40 or 50.

Getting older also adds immense pressure on settling down and having children; irrespective of society, many people still value being married and a mother by a certain age.

As I turned 40 this year, I didn’t feel old, but the number sounded old. I have friends who are older and younger than me, which prepared me to enter this new decade, and I must admit that turning 30 was more traumatizing than turning 40.

While there is talk of chronological (based on when you were born) versus biological (how old your cells are) age of a person- your biological and chronological age can be the same number, or they can be different because everyone ages at a different rate, and that depends on genetics and lifestyle.

However, when I spoke to my female friends about their perception of aging, they all said they were more comfortable with who they are now…