I just hit my ‘scary’ age – here’s how to conquer the fear

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It causes anxiety and pushes us to sit with existential questions around purpose, legacy, enoughness, and the significance of the mark we’ve made on the world.” open image in gallery ‘Sex and the City’ first introduced us to the concept of the ‘scary’ age London-based practice City Therapy Rooms highlights the range of anxieties related to getting old, including “the fear of physical decline, loss of independence, social isolation, and death”. You don’t need to rush to pull together a life that resembles some other person’s idea of how a thirtysomething should live Jodie Cariss, founder of Self Space “For so many people within my clinical practice, at around 30 years old, buying a home or having a baby are no longer distant things they might want to do one day when they have the time or money – they become achievements that they feel like they need to have nailed yesterday,” says Cariss. “They’re fuelled with urgency, panic, and often paralysing fear that they will be left behind as all their friends march down the cobbled street to adulthood while they watch from their Instagram feed.” But, she stresses, age really is just a number, and locking down perceived “milestones” neither guarantees that you’ll feel like a fully fledged adult, nor that you’ll be happy. In fact, if my “inside age” self – perpetually stuck at 27 – could see my life right now, I’m pretty sure she’d think it more bloody cool than blood-curdling.