As the years fly by, take heart – a University of California, San Diego study has found that despite physical ailments, older adults seem to consistently get happier over time. Dr. Dilip Jeste says the conventional wisdom about aging is it’s all gloom and doom.

"We associate aging with diseases, disabilities, degeneration, dementia and depression. All of the negative things, 2:14 which I find so insulting and degrading, and also it is wrong."

Jeste’s study focused on physical health, cognitive function and other measures of mental health in over 1500 adults, ages 21 to 103 years.

"We wanted to look at, not only the physical illnesses and cognitive problem, but also the positive characteristics – things like resilience, optimism, social engagement, compassion, wisdom. So, we got a much more comprehensive understanding of aging than many of the studies do."