Suggestions for Symptom Management

Copyright 2001 No parts of this article may be reprinted without permission If you're a man between the ages of 40 and 65, here is some advice from the experts: 1. Listen to what your body is telling you. Don't tune it out.2. Don't hide signs and symptoms of health problems form your family or your physician.3. Don't press pedal to the metal until you drop, figuring you will change your lifestyle after the first heart attack. Men have only a 50-50 chance of getting up from that first attack. Men prone to midlife crisis of male menopause score low on tests of introspection, or reflecting on one's self and on life, and high in denial, or coping with trouble by not thinking about it.Here are some suggestions as to what to do.
EXERCISE remains one of the most potent anti-aging medications known to mankind. If you walk at least half an hour, six days a week, you can cut your mortality rate in half compared with sedentary counterparts.
KEEPING YOUR EDGE Traditionally, men have spent their young and middle adulthood working hard so that they can be "comfortable" in old age. But that's the last thing you want to be---too comfortable. You want to be active, engaged, useful and sometimes tossing in your sleep at night---thinking about how to pursue your passion tomorrow. Men who live to 100 tend to be their own bosses and do not retire early. USING YOUR BRAIN Our most basic fears about mental decline with aging are challenged by recent research. There is no significant loss of brain cells--in the healthy brains of people who are living normal healthy lives. Brain cells tend to shrink or grow dormant in old age,particularly form a lack of stimulation and challenge. But if we introduce vigorous mental stimulation daily, even a developed brain can grow--sprouting new neural pathways and making new connections. SEEKING SPIRITUAL FULFILLMENT Each human being is imbued with a soul that has a unique calling. Most people actively search for spiritual commitment and companionship.
NURTURING LOVE The strongest link with male survival is being married. The GOOD NEWS is that the overwhelming majority of men accomplish the tasks of coming to terms with the realities of middle age through a long, gentle process---not an acute, painful crisis. And, in my area of research, which is sexuality, even though some men have reported erectile dysfunctions, all surveys show that aging has little impact on people's enjoyment of sex. There is no decrease in sexual satisfaction and there is an increase in relationship satisfaction. And we become wise. Wisdom doesn't happen at the age of six or eighteen. It may take a long rime for all of its components to be in place. At maturity we get a new start, a new way of understanding life that's more apt to benefit others. We become wise and we become. ENJOY YOUR LIFE!!! Copyright 2001 Beverly Whipple, Ph.D. All rights reserved