A very close friend of mine’s father seems to have lost his will to live. Here is an aging former soldier of fortune who once had a zest for life experienced by few. Now, he lost interest in eating, in seeing a doctor and seemingly everything else, including his will to live.
This bothers me for a couple of reasons. First, someone close to me may lose her dad. And on a larger scale, didn’t I say most people go to the ends of the earth to hang on to life towards the end? Well, apparently not all. Why is this?
Several months ago, I had a relevant conversation with another close friend about how some people cling to life at the end no matter how much suffering and pain they endure, while others simply throw in the towel.
We concluded it may have something to do with declining hormone levels. So, I gave my anti-aging physician a call a few days ago to discuss this possibility. His response was that yes, declining hormone levels lead to depression, which usually translates to loss of appetite, and of course, a diminished will to live. He routinely reverses this phenomena with closely monitored hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
Could declining hormone levels be evolution’s way to nudge us into going quietly into the night? Could savvy docs reverse deteriorating attitudes and improve and extend millions of lives with simple HRT?
I think the answer is a resounding YES!
Saturday, I enjoyed a wonderful lunch get together with one of the most esteemed psychologists and authors in history. In fact, he has been one of my personal heroes for about 40 years. He’s now experiencing moments of forgetfulness, which he calls his “senior moments.” The difference between him and my friend’s father is he is attacking his challenge head on, while maintaining his witty sense of humor. He’s getting sophisticated diagnostics, will undergo cutting edge treatment and is determined to reverse it.
And reverse it he will, according to a medical consultant who specializes in neurodegenerative conditions.
The moral to this story is, don’t wait until you see serious decline to see an anti-aging specialist. In fact, see one before you experience any decline – period. After all, once you see signs of a condition or disease, it may be too late. Heart disease and cancer are two good examples. They eat away at you for years before you show symptoms. And one symptom from heart disease is often sudden death.
Your perfect cure is prevention.
By David Kekich
