Middle Adulthood

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorCollege, Undergraduate February 2008

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"Middle age is when your classmates are so old and wrinkled and bald, they don?t recognize you". -Bennett CerfMiddle adulthood begins at the age of 40 - 60. This is a time when you can?t believe where the time went. It seems like just yesterday you were graduating from college, got married, and had children. Your children are now approaching young adulthood, pushing you into the next stage of life, middle adulthood. You look in the mirror and all the signs of middle age are starting to set in. You notice wrinkles, gray hair, flabby skin and you?re having trouble reading the menu. You begin to reassess you life. Are you happy with what you have accomplished in life so far? Do you have good family relationships? Is your career on track? Are you happy with yourself? There are many conflicts with both men and women during this period of life.

One conflict very important to both men and women is the bodily issue. Our body weight starts to change. Fat seems to be redistributed to the hips, stomach and trunk; our complexions become drier and wrinkles start to appear. Our skin doesn?t seem to be as resilient as it was in our 20?s and 30?s. In women there is a drop in bone mass, due to the slow depletion of estrogen. Menopause is fast approaching, followed up with all the negative health complications that follow this phase. This is the beginning of a slowness of our psychomotor performance. Our reaction time to specific situations is not as quick, and our physical stamina is not as strong as it used to be.

All these developments affect how men and women feel about themselves. Particularly women, begin to interpret these changes in a negative way. Some view themselves...