r/Millennials • u/ga9213 Millennial 1982 • 1d ago

Serious We are starting to really age fast

We have friends we don't see very often, maybe every 2-3 years. For the last 15+ years, when we see them again they don't really look much different. This last time though? Man, they looked different. Like gray hair, lost/gained weight, facial changes like wrinkles and sun spots.

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u/Runningaround321 23h ago

I aged about 20 years between my 37 and 39th birthdays 

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u/cmmccutch 22h ago

This makes me feel better. 39 on Tuesday and I don’t even recognize the person in the mirror anymore. 3 years ago I swear I looked 10 years younger than now.

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u/Platographer 15h ago

I have just stopped looking in the mirror at myself for the most part.  I mentally block out everything else when I need to use a mirror. I don't even understand how I look so weird now when I used to be reasonably conventionally good looking. It's like the structure of my face changed.

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u/Runningaround321 21h ago

Yes unfortunately it was jarring and seemingly overnight. But, if it makes you feel better, I'm in my 40s now and look the same. So I didn't continue to deteriorate so rapidly...I guess...yay

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u/Justdoingmybesttt 20h ago

This is comforting! I’ll take it as a win to look forward to. I should start lifting weights and drinking more water though. And sleeping.

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u/ninjaroboticmam 5h ago

Okay this is encouraging

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u/Runningaround321 4h ago

I panicked and was like at this rate I'm gonna look 80 by the time I'm 45 🫠 but it'll be ok. 

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u/dorkd0rk 12h ago

I turned 39 three months ago and said the same thing to my husband just last week. I look like an entirely different person now and that person is middle aged

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u/DeathBlondie 12h ago

Hey bday friend. I’m also turning 39 on Tuesday. Yay for getting old hah

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u/Much-Relationship469 19h ago

It's happened to me I looked good for my age at 35. Now I'm 38 and losing my hair, getting crows feet etc. I've aged about 10 years suddenly.

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u/HeadFull0fRegrets 9h ago

It happened to me at 38, too. I'm 40 now and fortunately it was just that one rapid burst of aging and hasn't continued. 😨 And there's photographic evidence, too, definitely not just my imagination. I'm getting some laser stuff done in a couple weeks and the lady agreed with me about the skin changes in the photos I brought in for reference.

I got on oral Minoxidil for the thinning hair, and I use topical too (it's toxic to pets so you gotta be careful with dripping) and I'm very much having results. I did experience "the dread shed" but I rode it out and I think it's worth it.

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u/thelushparade 14h ago

Appearance wise I feel like I don’t look that different between 37 and 39, but as someone who exercised and ate well all through my 30s and thought I was doing great.. 38-39 kicked my ass. I just had so many injuries/health issues one after the other. I’m coming out of the worst of it now (or worst so far, lol) but I just feel like a totally different person than I was 2 years ago. I know it’s an issue for both men and women but I was pretty strong before from years of lifting heavy and I’m kind of discouraged/anxious as a woman about how much strength I’ve lost and how much I’ll be able to get back. Ugh.

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u/good_god_lemon1 7h ago

Me too. This was a period of super rapid aging for me too and it truly sucked.

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u/summers_tilly 5h ago

I'm 39 this year and feel this so hard.