Male Midlife Crisis: Blame Lower Testosterone?

Michael Ceo, a counselor in Leesburg, VA, asks: "to what extent does (the stereotypical male midlife crisis) have a psychological or biological basis?"

"We hit middle age, and there is a nearly irresistible pull to put a charge back in your world. It can take many forms, some healthy and some destructive. For some men, it's a motorcycle or sports car, an urge for adventure or the compelling illusion that a hot younger babe is going to turn back your biological clock. Or the symptoms are more internalized such as increased irritability, sexual dysfunction, loss of interest in life's pleasures or a diminished sense of drive and purpose."

Ceo finds an interesting data point:

Having just read Dr. Eugene Shippen's book, "The Testosterone Syndrome," my thinking about male depression has been profoundly affected. The availability of the male hormone within a man's system reportedly declines with age. This chemical essence of maleness actually charges receptor sites in cells and organ systems throughout our bodies. In addition to our male plumbing, our brain and muscles, especially the heart muscle, is ripe with these receptor sites.

Testosterone is the key that unlocks the proper functioning of these cells, many of which may have become dormant or starved due to hormonal decline.

The production of dopamine, the brain neurotransmitter that charges us with energy and drive, is stimulated by testosterone. Could men in middle age be reacting to declining testosterone by undertaking activities and making decisions that are attempts at pumping up their dopamine? Are symptoms of depression in middle-aged men really an urgent SOS, signaling a need for more energizing male juice?

Ceo talked to a local physician who treats male aging, who "while working on a wellness program for firefighters, ... found testosterone replacement to have a jump-starting effect for men. He noticed emotional and mental improvements in a month or so, with libido improving after about three months of male hormone therapy."