To think people looked and felt better back in the old days vs now?

[wildernesswild]

Currently watching videos of Olivia Newton-John (rest in peace ) and I always notice people born years and years ago, maybe in the 60s/70s/80s look amazing then and now, no fakeness, I'm always told by my grandparents nobody really back in the day was majorly obese or had any mental health issues. Even the men groomed themselves and dressed amazingly.

What do we think contributes to our issues these days? Is it social media, processed food, unrealistic standards? I'd love to hear everyone's opinion

No, I don't think this is true in general. Celebrities tend to look better and be healthier in the first place (which contributes to their becoming celebrities) and then have the money, grooming, clothes, etc. to continue with relatively good looks and health.

I don't think people in general were healthier in the 60s and 70s. Quite the reverse- life expectancy has increased considerably. And, while obesity was less common then, smoking was much commoner than now.

I don't think people necessarily looked better then. If anything, they looked older if we are basing this on the general population and not celebrities. There also wasn't all of the processed food, people walked more -I walked to school every day in the 80s and none of this getting in a car to go around the corner in.

I rewatched Witness recently and remember thinking what a lovely natural beauty Kelly McGillis was and how if she was an aspiring actress today she’d need to lose three stone and get some lip fillers.

Also saw this What Friends would look like today meme on FB. Says it all really

Yes I was looking at my mum and dad's wedding album from 1971 my dad's mum was only about 52 but with her tight perm and old fashioned clothes she could have passed for someone in her70,s

Someone like Carey Grant was classically handsome, but didn't look like he spent 4 hours in the gym all day.

The current overly manicured look of young men is very off putting!

When we watched the Jimmy Saville documentary recently on Netflix we couldn't stop commenting on how bad everyone looked in the 70s and 80s! Watch a bit if you have time. It seemed like everyone above 25 looked and dressed as if they were 65!

There were contact lenses back in the 70s, but they were expensive, there were no disposable ones andnif you lost one it was costly to replace. Most people had to wait until they were earning to get them, and you saw an awful lot of teenagers wearing glasses back then. Not the fashionable ones you can get now, but the plain Jane type that did no one any favours.

Loads of people had mental health issues. They just drank or beat up their kids or wives instead of getting therapy.

Yes my mum had contacts but they were gas permeable ones - I’m not even sure you can get those now? They were really expensive back then. I remember a few times one would pop out and she’d literally have us all on our hands and knees searching the carpet for it in a complete tizz because they were about £100 for each lens!

Or were carted off to barbaric type asylums that still existed in the mid 80s - my Mum had schizophrenia and was sectioned in one (warlingham park) many times.

I get what you mean.
I am a bisexual woman and I'm not into what the majority seems to find attractive.
Fake tan, tattoos, veneers, ultra white teeth, fillers in lips, extensions, enhanced breasts and arses etc.

Sorry about your mum @Afterfire. My uncle spent most of his life in places like that. He was so wrecked by the electric shock treatments and high dose anti psychotics that he had permanent uncontrollable tremors including in his face and mouth; he couldn't speak or walk properly.

Mental ill health was rife but it mostly was not diagnosed or talked about. My DM looked like an old, badly dressed woman in her 40s. I look much younger than her now.

Being thin was malnourishment or wealth. There were some obese people around but I think it was less common.

When i think of my DGM I just think of the slog. She didnt have work outside the home stress but money must have been a constant worry.

I started my mental health nurse training in 1993 they were in the process of closing the l "Asylums" so most of the wards at the local mental health hospital ( originally known as asylums ) had closed but my first placement was on a long stay rehab ward some of the patients had been there for 30 / 40 years ,a lot of them probably had some learning disabilities but if they were not mentally unwell when they went ,they were very institutionalised by that time
The hospital had a small museum on sight only open to staff,
They had patients notes going back to the 1800,s I spent a morning there it was a fascinating if sad read through
Women being taken to hospital and basically locked up for the rest of their lives for bring a prostitute or having an " illegitimate child" they diagnosed people as lunatics ,and thought it was caused by masturbation !

I personally think lots of woman look horrendous nowadays. Ugly tattoos, (and i actually like tatoos) but so many of them they all merge into a blue/black smudge! Make up, resembling the drag queens, fake this, over sized that, orange toned skin, defiantly the drag queen look !

Terrifying isn’t it really, how easily people were locked away. There’s a very sad but interesting documentary on you tube called “silent minority”
about the homes set up for children and young adults with learning disabilities during the 70s and early 80s. Just such sad stories. My son has severe autism and we still have a long way to go with attitudes and provisions but you watch something like that and it just seems like a different world- until you realise places like the Ukraine still treat people the same way now (recently been in the bbc news).

I started my mental health nurse training in 1993 they were in the process of closing the l "Asylums" so most of the wards at the local mental health hospital ( originally known as asylums ) had closed but my first placement was on a long stay rehab ward some of the patients had been there for 30 / 40 years ,a lot of them probably had some learning disabilities but if they were not mentally unwell when they went ,they were very institutionalised by that time

Reminds of one of the episodes of The Crown - even the queen had cousins in asylums, these two I believe were actually believed by many, including the queen and her immediate family, to be dead for a long time when it turned out they had spent most of their lives in an asylum, well into the 80s and 90s.
Imagine a family having all that wealth and still not finding suitable space in one of their many homes and quality care for disabled family members! It must have been common in many families to have someone ‘locked away’ like that, more out of shame than necessity it seems. That was just the norm. If disabled members from the wealthy aristocracy were treated this way, what hope did anyone else have?Horrific.

Obviously people had mental health issues!!

They weren't spoken about though. Issues were hidden away or swept under carpets and ignored. Or the person was "put away" in a home.

There was a huge stigma around mental health and very little public or private support for the average person having difficulties. Hence the stereotype of mum on the gin or the Valium as a coping mechanism, or the bloke down the pub drowning his sorrows in beer.

I can look back now at my 70's classroom and pick out the kids who were depressed, or eating disorders but none of that was ever addressed. Same with autism/adhd - classed as bad behaviour mostly and many kids with potential never got their chance to shine.

Yes totally, my son also has severe autism and learning disabilities, i was watching a documentary in you tube recently about disabled children in the Ukraine from the 90,s often children with severe disabilities were taken from parents whether the parents wanted that or not ,really sad .

I think the Queen had an uncle Prince John ,who had disabilities, epilepsy and possibly autism he died around the age of 13 but he was locked away in a cottage on one of the royal estates with his nanny ,I think when he was very young he featured in royal family photos but not in later years ,very sad .

I think the Queen had an uncle Prince John ,who had disabilities, epilepsy and possibly autism he died around the age of 13 but he was locked away in a cottage on one of the royal estates with his nanny ,I think when he was very young he featured in royal family photos but not in later years ,very sad .

Very sad indeed @x2boys
I was referring to these two ladies:
www.independent.co.uk/life-style/royal-family/the-crown-queen-cousins-nerissa-katherine-bowes-lyon-b1721187.html?amp

I look better than either of my grandmothers did at my age (1976 & 1957).

Oh gosh that's horrific ,I hope this doesn't happen again if any current member of the royal family had a child with severe disabilities.

Gen z have some insufferable theories!

Olivia Newton John looked amazing until the day she died because she had enough money to get some very good cosmetic work done.