<strong>Raffles</strong> <strong>Health</strong><strong>News</strong> Feature Evolution of Men:Psychological and Physical ChangesAs men age, there will besubtle changes taking place inthemselves, both physically andpsychologically. In their twenties, menhave a fearless outlook to life; they arefull of zest and energy whether it is outpartying all night or working 18-hourshifts at work. In their thirties, whenhaving to balance family life, financialand work commitments, men struggleto contain the stress that comes withthese priorities. As they approach middleage, they start to battle changes both inthe physical aspect (dip in energy level,body growing out of shape and balding)and at the psychological front (dwindlinginterest in sex, financial and familycommitments, and immense challengesat the workplace) while trying to keepup with colleagues who are decadesyounger and could work longer hours.The vast majority of people seeking helpfor emotional issues are women. Whatthen, about men? Does it mean thatmen are the stronger race? Or does itmean that men sometimes have moreproblems seeking help?Research studies have shown that bythe year 2020, the life expectancy ofboth men and women in Singapore willbe over 90.Men can take a leaf from the Cree(American Indian) tradition in which theyhave seven stages of life. It is noted thatnot all people go through all the stages, andthat some get stuck along the way. Also,not everyone goes through the stages atthe same age, and it may be possible to gothrough them more than once.Here are the stages. You can decidewhat stage you are in and whether it istime to move on or not!1. Happy TimesUsually childhood till puberty - feelinggenerally happy about life as long aswe are safe and have our basic needsmet. (In our rather demanding schoolsystem though, sometimes this maynot always be the happy time it wasmeant to be.)2. ConfusionPuberty - where you do not really knowwhat to believe, do not know who weare, our bodies are changing, and ouremotions are running wild. Today’s worldmay be totally changed by the computerage where discovering who you arecan be done by spending inordinateamounts of time on the Internet.3. SearchingUsually the late teens or earlytwenties - looking for truth. We donot necessarily want to buy intoestablished ways of doing things, andwant to discover our own version ofthe truth. There is a need to strike outon our own.4. TruthUsually early to mid twenties wherewe decide who we are and what westand for.5. DecisionsMid twenties onwards - finding apartner, getting married, choosing aprofession or life path to follow.6. Planting Time“First adulthood”. This occurs in thetwenties to forties where we raise afamily and establish ourselves in ourwork or community.7. TeachingLate forties onwards - where we moveinto our second childhood, where weexplore the meaning of our lives andof life in general, reflecting on what wehave learnt, and begin to pass on ourknowledge to the next generation. Thetransition from the first adulthood to thesecond can sometimes be really difficult,but this is the beginning of elderhood.There are some similarities to what we gothrough here in Singapore. The early stagesof adulthood are seen as times to chaseour dreams. Here, people usually developan idea of what they want to do, and workto achieve it. While it may be important topursue a career goal single-mindedly, alltoo often, many men rush blindly throughlife without taking the time to decide whatis really important in life. They soon findvaluable time or relationships gone, orhealth impaired, or even difficult patternsof behaviour ingrained such that changeis difficult. It is therefore, important to taketime out (outside the realm of work) to do astock take and spend some time, reflectingon our stage in life.By Dr Munidasa Winslow,Consultant Psychiatrist, <strong>Raffles</strong> Hospital