Is it normal for a person to "feel" less as they get older?

aCosmicWave@lemm.ee to Asklemmy@lemmy.ml – 508 points –

I remember experiencing the world much more vividly when I was a little boy.

I would step outside on an autumn evening and feel joy as the cool breeze rustled the leaves and caressed my skin. In the summers, I would listen to the orchestra of insects buzzing around me. I would waddle out of the cold swimming pool and the most wonderful shiver would cascade out of me as I peed in the bathroom. In the winters, I would get mesmerized by the simple sound of my boots crunching the snow under me.

These were not experiences that I actively sought out. They just happened. I did not need to stop to smell the figurative roses, the roses themselves would stop me in my tracks.

As I got older, I started feeling less and less and thinking more and more.

I've tried meditation, recreation, vacation, resignation, and medication. Some of these things have helped but I am still left wondering... is this a side effect of getting older? Or is there something wrong with me?

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I'm sure it also has something to do with that when you get older, you've had those experiences many more times than as a child. They just don't feel that specia anymore.l

Wow, that rings brutal, but true. "Childlike wonder" is truly special.

This is also why days feel faster as you age. More repetition and your brain doesn't need to form as much new memories.

Want to live longer? Experience more novelty!