AARP Hearing Center
I have a friend in her 50s who has always been beautifully curvy with washboard abs and kick-ass clothes. She was as comfortable in her skin as anyone I’ve known — until now.
Menopause — and its attendant weight gain, in her case — has upended her self-esteem. I know many of you will relate.
This week, our experts offer guidance on how to accept, honor and cherish the older bodies we now inhabit. I found their remarks powerful.
All my life, I’ve had a gorgeous six-foot body. Now, at 65, I feel like the dried out, sagging, rotten rose in the bouquet that needs to be taken out and thrown away. I’ve never been vain, but I cannot stand my body. It’s gotten so bad that I don’t want to get naked with my husband. Does every woman go through this? How does one deal with this?
Certified sexuality educator Tameca N. Harris-Jackson says it’s helpful to recognize that what you are feeling is not unique. “You’re not alone,” she says. “There’s a community that understands you. It’s a shared experience.”
It’s common to feel you should look a certain way — the way you used to, Harris-Jackson says. “What we see in the mirror and what we experience and feel are different. You wake up one day, and you don’t recognize yourself.”
Now, how to handle that change. Harris-Jackson urges you to share your story with your friend group. “Talk and laugh over it. When you can laugh about it, you can normalize it,” she adds. “You’ll end up thinking: ‘It’s not as horrible as I thought.’ "

In the Mood
For AARP’s In the Mood column, writer Ellen Uzelac will ask experts your most pressing 50+ sex and relationship questions. Uzelac is the former West Coast bureau chief for The Baltimore Sun. She writes frequently on sex, relationships, travel and lifestyle issues.
Here are some additional strategies that may help you gain a new perspective:
Acknowledge your loss. What you are experiencing is called disenfranchised grief — sadness you’re not supposed to talk about, according to certified sex therapist Rosara Torrisi.
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In The Mood
Writer Ellen Uzelac asks experts your most pressing 50+ sex and relationship questions