Published on
updated on
Reading 2 min.
in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)
Film star Nicole Kidman remains very present on the small and big screen. But even if her career is in good shape, the actress admits her anxiety about getting older. How do we accept the passage of time? Insights from our psychologist, Amélie Boukhobza.
On the cover of GQ magazine, English version, Nicole Kidman admitted her fear of approaching 60. The 57-year-old Australian actress lost both her parents, including her mother recently. Which could partly explain his fears.
Become aware of the passing of time
Indeed, Nicole Kidman lost her father in 2014. After this painful ordeal, she recently experienced bereavement, with the death of her mother last September. “Life moving forward and hitting you. Losing your parents and raising children and marriage and all the things that come and go that make you feel human. I’m in all these places at once. So life is crazy” she explains in the columns of the magazine.
Anxious about growing old
For the actress, these losses highlighted how time passes, with the fleeting presence of our loved ones and the awareness of one’s own mortality. The one who is approaching 60 says she is “open to emotions”.
“Life is definitely an adventure. And it hits you harder when you get older. Sometimes I wake up at three in the morning, I cry, I suffocate of anguish…If you’re into it and don’t let yourself get numbed. And I’m in there. Really !” she confessed. “There is the mortal side of life and when you start dealing with that, it’s very heavy. When you raise children you say to yourself: ‘I have to stay. I want to see all that’. It’s devastating, beautiful and extraordinary all at once.“.
Nicole Kidman is certainly not the only person worried about getting older. But how can we best understand life when time flies? For Amélie Boukhobza, it has never been so complicated.
“We live in a society where everything is done to retain time, where wrinkles are almost seen as failures, and where staying young has become an injunction. This is very present in consultations, especially among women” she notes.
So how do you find serenity?
“The key is perhaps to first accept that aging is not a decline, it is a normal evolution, a transformation. It’s not easy, it’s true, especially in a world obsessed with performance and appearance.” she explains.
“By moving away from permanent comparisons and totally unrealistic standards, we can redefine this stage as a time to refocus on what really matters: our well-being, our relationships and what we still want to build.”.
Loving yourself differently, but loving yourself all the same
The other challenge is to learn to love your body and its appearance in a different way. “Not as an object to be constantly repaired or improved, but as an ally that we listen to and respect.” explains the expert again. “This of course involves taking care of yourself: moving, eating well, but also taking advantage of what the body can still offer, rather than always regretting what it has lost and only focusing on that“.
Finally, aging peacefully also involves maintaining a curious and open mind. “We must accept the passage of time, life and the experiences that transform us. And remember that the years that pass can be real strength” she concludes.
Slide: How to age well?