A study done in the UK and in the US has come to the conclusion that mental health improves as people enter their senior years, even when physical health declines.

The study evaluated a person's quality of life byusing a survey which assessed eight different factors including perception of general health, pain, social functioning and mental health.

Over a lifespan, mental health follows a U-curve, not a bell curve, with people in their mid-40's experiencing the poorest coping ability for life's stresses.

The elderly, it turns out, cope better with hardship and negative experiences, perhaps because they have more perspective on those experiences and perhaps also having had more practice in coping, being resilient, and surviving.

The greater mental health findings may also be related to lowered expectations and reduced need to acquire consumer goods, to get promoted, etc. Something to think about, for people in all age brackets.

For myself, I find I am much more content--and happier--now, even when medical or financial concerns have to be addressed. Situations that would have stressed me out when I was younger--now, putting them in perspective, I can deal with them.