Evening star., 1961-07-26
WOMEN SAY
Frenzied
Fifties?
Not So
By PHYLLIS EHRLICH

BY PHYLLIS EHRLICH
North American Newspaper Alliance
NEW YORK. July 26. -
When DR.. John Briggs la
beled two of the ages of con-
temporary man as the
foolish forties" and the
"frenzied fifties" at the 10th
annual meeting of the Amer
ican Medical Association re-
Gently. he touched off a
considerable amount of con-
troversy, particularly among
women in the latter age
group.
DR.. Briggs. an associated
professor of clinical medicine
at the University of Mime
sofa, said that most men
underwent an emotional re-
action sometime in mid-life.
The underlying cause is a
failure to learn ones limita-
tionS early and to frame ones
life within them, he believes.
The essential fact is that the
man has gone as far as he
ever will up the ladder of
success and perceives that
the only direction remaining
is down.
Squandered Energy
He has squandered his
reserves of emotional, intel
lectual and physical strength.
Thus, emotionally disturbed,
he runs the risk of hypo-
chondria, alcoholism, suicide
or even murder.
If modern man experiences
this narrowing ten year
span. what are the prospects
for his feminine counterpart
of similar age?
Women go through a pro-
cess that is reversed, accord
ing to some specialists. It is
called the age of the free
fiftieS" by some women who
unabashedly a d m i t that
they have reached the mid
century point in their lives
and they are glad of it.
After the viciSSitudes of
early marriage, child-bear-
ing, child-rearing and emo
tionally supporting a hus-
band in the formative stages
OF his career, many middle
aged women feel that they
experience their first real
freedom in years.
DR.. Briggs said in an in
terview that he agreed about
the free fifties" in the age
of the woman. He feels a
mature acceptance of life has
taught American women that
they have lost nothing when
they reach their fifties.
Mature women still re-
tain the ability to charm,
they are still disarmingly
feminine" he said.
One very energetic free
fifties" woman is a custom
clothes designer and ward
robe planner who summed it
up this way:
You haven't lived until
you reach 50-it is the best
time of my life. My mature
women customers say they
have experienced the same
free, relaxed feeling"
My attitude toward life
has changed" she said. 1T
is much more positive. I
have more energy than ever
before in my adult life. I've
learned to plan ahead, I
get more important things
done and I've learned the
trick of apportioning both
my time and my emotional
energies"
The designer said that
child rearing and housework
seemed to crowd her younger
days, creating fatigue and
Illustration. An inexperienced
young wife or mother be-
comes disgrunted, the believes,
because of the myriad worries
sometime unfounded-that
beset her. The inevitable lack
of time and energy, and
oftentimes money. she said,
adds to a younger matron's
woes.
This new found happier
attitude about life, shared
increasingly by many older
women, was not always ap-
parent.
Once Depressed
I'm the traditional past
many women became de-
pressed in their forties and
fifties, particularly during
the change of life" states
a Manhattan psychiatrist.
Through mis- interpreta-
ton they viewed this period
as an end of life. Indeed it
often was, years ago. All
human beings had a short
life expectancy. But because
this age coincided with the
end of child-bearing days
women felt unproductive,
there was no future for them
and no challenge"
Today this is all changed.
Women are healthier and
they can anticipate with
certainty a longer, more use
full life. With an enlightened
spirit and the aid of modern
medicine. the psychiatrist
said. most women bridge
this particular stage perfectly
we'll