There is probably more variation between people overall in how they handle turning 50, than between men and women specifically. How you feel has much to do with your personality, your previous experience with and handling of loss, and how you feel about where you are in your life.

Turning 50 means your life is more than half over in all likelihood. This resurrects thoughts of mortality, questions of having achieved enough, reevaluating priorities and thoughts of aging, infirmity and loss. Many stressors may also be occurring: loss of or care of parents, children leaving the nest, menopause for women (which also affects men!), already having peaked at work, not realizing a particular dream.

Men may be struggling with all of these feelings and not feel comfortable sharing them. Isolation and loneliness may also become an issue. Very few people in general have a healthy attitude about aging. Our society at large overvalues youth, and many men and women are scrambling to try to look younger and act younger. "50 is the new 30?" Acceptance of and appreciation for later life is certainly a goal, but most men struggle with it.

Men who are more flexible, who have positive images of being an older person, who feel more optimistic, but yet can allow themselves to think about death, loss and what they want their priorities to be going forward are going to be in better shape turning 50. Satisfaction with what they have achieved in terms of career, relationships, finances and of course their health, all impact how a man feels turning 50.

Fatherhood is a hugely important role for many men turning 50. At this juncture it depends on whether he feels he is comfortable with the time and energy he has invested in fatherhood as to whether he sees himself as satisfied or regretting lost time being a father. When children start leaving home, many men suddenly do regret time they spend ambitiously going after career perhaps at the expense of family time. Or financial survival may have required missing child-rearing and now that financial survival has been secured, regrets move in. Losing one's own father increases thoughts of ones own mortality and questions about your own fathering.

Thoughts of mortality are about fears of the unknown, abandonment, loneliness. It raises questions of whether you have lived enough, accomplished enough, left a legacy so people will remember you. Faith is often helpful here.

Men are more aware of appearances than ever before. Looking old makes men feel they are losing power, vitality, sexuality and the power to compete and hold onto loved ones. This has driven an increasing number of men to seek cosmetic procedures, work out and do whatever they can to look young.

In order to avoid a crisis a man needs to spend time thinking about and talking to people with whom he feels comfortable about mortality, his wishes for what he has yet to do, evaluate what he has done, address any regrets he may have or thinks he will have if he doesn't make a change, acceptance of the limits of life and his limitations in particular. Contemplating the end of life actually helps many men to value each day and future plans that much more, to reprioritize what really matters (more toward relationships of import) and to feel more in touch with emotions and be able to share them with others.

Who, you may ask, is having sex after 50, after 60, after 70? The answer is...plenty of people.

It is true that as one ages there are issues that come up, both physical and psychological, that can put a real crimp in your sex life. In fact, a third of people post 50 report having real sexual problems that range from erectile dysfunction to loss of libido. But, that also means that 75% of people are not reporting a problem.

As age goes up, so do medical problems and use of medications, both of which can interfere with sexual functioning. Many couples kind of give up once they don't feel like it or sex is fraught with some failure or disappointment. Once a couple throws in the towel, it is highly unlikely they will get back to sex. The point being that a problem should be addressed as soon as it arises. Sometimes hormone replacement is needed or a medical problem addressed or medication changed, and certainly above all there needs to be discussion about improving the sex and trying new things to see what might work.

Many couples, however, report the best sex they have ever had after 50. Both men and women may become more comfortable with their bodies, know what works best for each other, and feel generally less inhibited. They don't have to worry about pregnancy and birth control--though they should continue protected sex unless this is their longterm, STD free and monogamous partner.

While there are certainly more challenges to sex after menopause and with advancing age, the idea that there is no great sex then is a myth. If you are experiencing difficulty, see your doctor to check medical issues and hormone levels.

Remember that this time requires more communication and openness, but there is much to be gained!

Watch the segment from TODAY Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of the topic!