Summarize:

Feeling anxiety about aging is completely normal, but your fear might be an unrealistic reaction to an experience or your conceptions of getting old.  Identifying why you’re scared of turning 30 may help you more quickly accept this milestone.  You might fear turning 30 because some people categorize it as “old.” However, with medical progress and longer life expectancy, thirty is no longer middle age.  You might fear turning thirty because it makes you feel like you should be accept more responsibility, act like an adult, or because you haven’t achieved everything you thought you would by this age.  Consider writing out your aging fears to help you realize that they’re not rational and accept your milestone. You can’t turn back the proverbial hand of time, so just accept—and welcome-- the fact that you’re turning thirty. Once you let go and recognize the inevitable, you may more easily accept turning 30.  Many others people in your life, including your parents and probably some of your friends, have turned 30 and survived. Know you will live through turning 30 and will probably enjoy the decade more than you did your 20s.  Take on the attitude that “30 is the new 20.” This behavioral tactic of framing the milestone to minimize its gravity may help you accept it more readily. Consider practicing gentle yoga and meditation to help stretch out your muscles. Doing these exercises can help relax and refocus you, and in turn may help you more readily accept that you’re turning 30.  Try doing gentle forms of yoga, such as restorative and yin yoga. These forms are specifically practiced to help stretch out and repair muscles and relax the body.  There are many different health benefits to meditation such as lower blood pressure, decreased anxiety and depression, less stress, and greater feelings of relaxation and general well-being.  Meditation can also help liberate your mind and allow you to let go of the attachment to things you can’t control.  Talk to your doctor before you begin any yoga practice to make sure you’re healthy enough to practice. This old truism has likely never been more accurate than today. With advances in health care and lifestyles, people are living longer and looker younger for longer periods of time.  If you take care of yourself by exercising, eating healthy, getting plenty of rest, and avoiding stress, your body may be much healthier than that of someone younger than you.  Societal pressures in the media often make aging look like a process of aches, feebleness, and inactivity. By keeping in mind Mark Twain’s statement, “age is an issue of mind over matter,” you may be able to not focus on the number of your age but how much you can do and how great you feel. Your twenties are a defining decade of your life that are filled with making life plans and getting settled. Think about what you’ve accomplished already in your twenties and how that can help set you up for another exciting decade in your thirties where plans may come to fruition. You can consider most major milestones in your twenties as accomplishments. For example, maybe you finished your education or started a family. You can use these accomplishments as starting points for goals during your thirties. Accept that there is going to be failure in any endeavor. Learning to embrace the failure and then move on can help you to age gracefully and accept the upcoming challenges of the new decade. The inability to accept turning thirty may begin with expectations you had for yourself. Letting go of unrealistic or unfulfilled expectations can help you create a positive environment and start your thirties out on the right foot. Accept that nothing is perfect. Imperfection adds character and letting go of any expectations of perfection will help you focus on the positive changes in your life. Every person is different and comparing yourself to other people can minimize your self-confidence, especially in an era when there is so much societal pressure to appear young. Focusing on yourself and not comparing yourself to others is essential to accepting your upcoming milestone. Don’t let societal conceptions of age or aging discourage you. With so much focus on celebrities who seemingly don’t age—mostly with the help of cosmetic procedures--  it’s hard to accept aging.
Figure out why you are scared of turning 30. Accept that you’re turning 30. Practice yoga and meditation. Remember that age is just a number. Think about your accomplishments so far. Forget and move on from failures. Let go of expectations. Avoid comparing yourself to others.