A Man and a Woman in the Middle Years

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Abstract
The articles prior to January 2008 are part of the back file collection and are not available with a current paid subscription. To access the article, you may purchase it or purchase the complete back file collection here Karen E Dennis, RN, MSN A man and a woman, half a century old, stand side by side and gaze into the mirror. Reflected back at them are wrinkles and bifocals, gray hair and receding hairlines, false teeth, and dark circles under the eyes. Their petty ills are unspectacular, unglamorous, and unmentionable. They receive no sympathy for their private sufferings, but find themselves to be the butt of frequent comic comments. Forgetfulness, absentmindedness, and the tendency to repeat themselves are further evidence that the wearing-out process of middle age is attacking them with full force. In modern American society, with its emphasis on youth and youthful characteristics, the onset of middle age is viewed as being nothing short of disaster. Advertisements bombard the middleaged population with exhortations to buy products that keep the skin smooth and younger-looking. There are products that will dye hair to cover the gray completely, and others that leave only the amount of gray that the individual finds tolerable. And now there are bifocal lenses that don't look like bifocals at all. Still other advertisements cater to the physiologic changes of middle age, so that consumers are conditioned to expect encounters with arthritis, insomnia, and constipation. Negative and pervasive stereotyped images of middle age do more to destroy the integrity of persons in that age group than any reality they actually experience. Those negative stereotyped images are the very ones that influence the American people toward the excessive value that is placed on youth. Glorifying physical beauty and prowess while subjugating all other characteristics denies the fullness and richness of the total human experience. A perspective can be retained by recognizing that every age has positive and negative aspects, and that throughout the entire age span life is valued as precious. More than 40 million Americans, approximately one-fourth of the total population, are part of the broad category that encompasses middle adulthood.2 Although they are a minority in numbers when compared with all other age groups, middleaged adults earn most of the money, pay most of the bills and taxes, make most of the decisions, and do most of the work. They are the ones who wield the power and influence in politics, education, science, business, and the community. Having experimented with many techniques for facing problems and change, they can think, they are practiced, and they know what works. No longer do they expect the impossible dream or protect inflexible positions.3 An opportunity to mellow, to develop tolerance, and to see the world in a sharper perspective enhances the striking power of judgment that is a unique and reassuring consequence of middle age. As Murray2 has stated: "The excitement of the middle years lies in using adeptly the experience, insights, values, and realism acquired earlier." It is not without substantial foundation that middle age is often called "the prime of life." In middlescence, the adult's lifestyle, occupation, and family life pattern have been chosen, and individuals concern themselves with implementing their choices.4 Status, a recognized place in the community, seniority in employment, and financial security are enjoyed as advantages of this stage of life. For those who have deferred coveted activities until either the children or the savings accounts have grown, middle age is a time of fulfillment, a time perhaps to enjoy that long-awaited "dream" vacation. It also is a time to remember what was, to consider what is, and to think ahead in order to determine the meaningfulness of life that is left.5 People in this age group know what they are able to do, and proceed to do it with confidence. Later in middlescence, individuals experience the… 10.3928/0098-9134-19810701-08

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