Middle-Age Revolt in the Male
Along with decreases in physical stamina and sexual activity, such signs as receding hairlines indicate the passing of youth, a stage soon to be followed in some people by what the psychoanalysts have termed "middle-age revolt." This usually comes earlier for the worker, later for the manager or professional man; but it comes to many in terms of lost dreams and failure to meet cutthroat competition. This revolt comes when the man cannot plead the inexperience of youth or the frailties of age. The middle-ager sometimes expresses guilt feelings of failure and blames himself for not having gone into the right job He frequently wonders whether he married the right woman. Middle age begins when the phone rings on Saturday night and you hope it is a wrong num ber.
The man in middle age may see his weight climbing and his hair thinning. These easily observed changes disturb him. When youngsters call him "Sir," and the lone courtesy candle appears on his birthday cake, the middle-aged man is quite ready to m8.gnify his problems. His ego suffers another blow when he moves into the bifocal stage and he finds that his insurance rates are going up. It is in this stage that the middle-aged man sometimes begins to take out his aggression against his family and his job. During this period of emotional second adolescence, the middle-aged worker may be difficult to deal with and the manager may be hard to work for. The professional begins to take stock of where he stands.
