Reversing Age With Breath?

[Trusk'our he/him]

There is a WoB that states that if you were to remove the Breaths from someone that kept them young, they would probably revert to the age they should have been;

Spoiler

https://wob.coppermind.net/events/316/#e9477

Hoiditthroughthegrapevine

If a person held enough breath to attain the 5th heightening, lived for a thousand years, and then sold all but their initial breath, would their spiritual age force them to rapidly age as we saw with Rashek, or would they resume natural aging from the point at which they ceased?

Brandon Sanderson (written)

I think they would rapidly age.

But I'm not ready to say 100%.

This has started making me wonder, is it possible for people who receive Breaths when they are old to reverse their appearance to that of being younger as well as feeling younger?

After all, it's possible for people with enough Investiture to change their body's appearance to what they feel it should be, so maybe it's possible for Breaths too.

Yumi spoilers;

Spoiler

This is Yumi's situation; she'll continue to age due to her perception of self, though it won't kill her. Perhaps this means that holding enough Breaths could effectively reverse someone's age for the duration they hold them then instead of just slowing or stopping the process.

 

[alder24]

5 minutes ago, Trusk'our said:

This has started making me wonder, is it possible for people who receive Breaths when they are old to reverse their appearance to that of being younger as well as feeling younger?

Probably not, because that sounds too much like the Royal Locks and what Returned can do. Awakeners aren't Cognitive Shadows.

[Longshot97 he/him]

With the proper alteration of Identity, I think sufficient Investiture could change anyone's body, as their Cognitive self has shifted.

Of course, this is only the case if Identity is equivalent to Cognitive self-perception, but I don't think anything outright contradicts this.

So, as I see it, an 80-year old would need to somehow take on the identity of himself at the age of 20. Then, he would gain enough Breaths to reach the 5th Heightening, and that might be enough to send his body into a reverse-aging spiral, then preserve itself at that point.

[Spoilers for full Cosmere]

Spoiler

The easiest way would be strategic implementation of F-Aluminum. However, depending on whether or not a metalmind can be drained of Identity (or if its more akin to a coppermind) this would only be a temporary fix.

Another way might be induced delusion, where a person genuinely believes themselves younger than they are. How? Excised memory, strategic Hemalurgy, maybe some others?

 

[Sophrosyne he/him]

Actually I believe this is just how Invested healing works generally right?
So long as you really genuinely believe you whatever shape really a high enough there's hold of investiture will alter you body to match the mental perception.
I think Yumi Spoliers?:

Spoiler

This is exactly what happens when Yumi takes Painter's body, Her level of investiture allows her cognitive aspect to mold her new body.

But if you don't want SP3 spoilers look at the Knights Radiant regrowing limbs and having magical sex changes and critically the stated reason why they can't heal older injuries is that the person's soul thinks that's how they're supposed to be.