When you are young, the life seems to long forever,
or almost forever. But, as you get older, the life passing eventually speeds-up
to never ever slow down again. There several theories, of why that happens. You do understand that time is an objective
category and it is more or less the same for young and old. So, it is all about
perception. When you are in love, time crawls slowly, as you wait for your date…
One of the theory claims that time runs faster as
you get older, since subconsciously you compare every moment of your life with
all life you lived. The ratio will be smaller and smaller, as you understand
from basic math. In any case, at some point you suddenly realize that the
number of remaining years is quite limited. And the moment of realization that you
are growing old can be traumatic.
Some psychological characteristics of aging get
passed down from generation to generation through our genes. Others can result
from real or perceived changes in our bodies as we age (e.g., mental or
physical limitations). Social and cultural differences also affect how we deal
with aging. Men and women think about aging differently, because of biological,
social, and psychological differences between the sexes. For example, women
tend to live longer than men, so they generally experience more losses of
family members and friends. All these factors influence our overall well-being
as we age.
Throughout the life of an every man, there are multiple
psychological issues that he constantly struggles with, and these challenges
are often amplified during the most critical life stages as puberty and Andropause.
In includes self-assessment and self-realization for
- Sexuality
- Emotions
- Mind
- Courage
- Productivity
- Personality
- Character
- Boyish behaviors
Technically, most of the aspects of the
psychological crisis during Andropause can be linked to the dropping levels of testosterone.
Young men often have testosterone levels exceeding 1000ng/dl. If you compare
this level with the average testosterone level of the 80 year-old men, about
200ng/dl, it looks quite a substantial drop.
Therapists noticed that some older men tend to be
closer to their family at the andropausal ages and are more interested in
domestic issues than when they were younger. It is as if the lack of
testosterone makes them more "feminine". They take on more homely
roles of cooking, cleaning and looking after children. Men in their early stage
of life often focus on money, career, and power but when andropause strikes
them, the transitions are clearly seen. These men became more concerned with
their family and friends as if they regret their past attitudes. It is a
standard situation when they devote much more time and attention to their
grandchildren than they had previously to their own children when they were
parents themselves.
It is not entirely could be attributed to the testosterone
levels. Perhaps another factor plays its role that they might have more spare time
during the andropausal years as they have probably retired by then, or they do
not need to work as hard as they used to, when they started their professional careers.
They may also have more disposable income, having saved most of their lives,
and are more willing to enjoy little pleasures around them, stopping to smell
the roses. Their emotions become less "fiery" and take on a gentler
aspect, so in a sense, the decline of testosterone enhances domestication
skills.
While it is not a common effect, for many in the
andropausal years the mind may become less sharp and flexible. The older male
becomes slower in mental calculations and ability to adopt new processes and
technologies. Not surprisingly, the older you get, the more conservative you
become. While it is more complicated to compete in the fast changing dynamic
environment, there are big advantages in older men, which help them to compete
on the job market with younger counterparts. It is experience and expertise,
something your young colleges cannot learn even in the best Ivy League
colleges. With all that, you more frequent need to get assistance in paper
notes or technologically advanced devices to keep your schedule.
Although once willing to take risks of all sorts,
the andropausal man becomes more careful and conservative in daily activities
as well. They no longer participate in roller coasters and bungee jumping, but
rather watch these on TV instead. Most loose courage to take on new ventures
and feel it is a time to retire and to "take it easy". However, fear
and courage take on a different perspective in the andropausal years,
especially in the older age group of the eighties and nineties. A study on fear
was done whereby two groups of people were asked what they feared most. The
younger group in the twenties said "death", but death was not what
the eighty year olds feared most. It was their loss of independence. It is
almost as if the elderly chide, "Death, where is thy sting?"
Productivity is at the core of a man's being. He
feels happy when he creates something and is being noticed for it. He wants to
feel contributory to his family and even to the whole society. It is natural
that all his life he struggles to secure a descent living to his family, and to
get recognition at work for his efforts. Andropause is a time of decline, when
he might no longer be as productive as he was before, and occasionally it takes
more time, efforts, and all skills to compete with the new breed of ambitious
young colleagues.
A man's personality may not stay the same over the
years of his life. In younger days the younger male is impulsive, intolerant
and ambitious. With the passage of time, various experiences and the fall in
testosterone, quite a different male may emerge in later years. The red hot
male often converts to a mellow yellow version, becoming more
"feminine" and "domesticated", and taking on fewer
challenges in the outside world, often preferring the cozy security of family
and close friends.
He is much less active, prefers his couch to watch
television, and becomes weaker from lack of exercise. Deep inside every man is
the desire to remain young and be that little boy that he once was. This may
become more marked after retirement as usually there is more spare time at
hand. The andropausal man may relive his childhood days, often to the amazement
of his partner or spouse! The mischief may be an extramarital affair, a new red
sports car, a sudden passion for toy train sets, riding a bicycle, which he
hadn't done for years, and so on.
It is also important to highlight, that for men
going through Andropause and for their partners, the impact of the bodily
changes and psychological side effects linked with low testosterone levels are
a very real problem. It can be very demoralizing for men to experience
unnatural depression, weight
gain, muscle
loss, irritability
and a change
in sleep patterns, all of which may lead to them experiencing anxiety
that they are not used to having. This can lead men to experience a decrease in
sexual drive and occasional erectile dysfunction. All of these closely linked
bodily patterns of Andropause have a significant impact on the man’s quality of
life.
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