Women are better at managing midlife than men – here's why

The social narrative used to be that women in their fifties are past it, whilst men are in their prime. This is because women's value in society was predicated on their looks and baby-making abilities and men's was on their earning power.

Thank God these views are changing and when I turned 50 last year, I felt pretty great about it. I knew I was entering a post-child-rearing era, where I had more time to dedicate to my career, my friends and, ultimately, myself.

That empowerment and autonomy have translated to happiness. Of course, I have days where the lines and sagging feel a little depressing, but overall, I feel so much more vital.

However, if adventurer Bear Grylls is anything to go by, men are struggling more with hitting half a century.

Asked about turning 50 following his birthday in June, the action man said: "The honest answer is I don't think I'm dealing with it very well."

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A therapist once told me that if something challenges how you see yourself and calls into question what you consider your standout qualities, then it can provoke an existential crisis – and this is what I think is happening with Bear.

With her help, I understood my marriage ending was so hard for me because I wanted so much to be loveable and believed I was. Until my ex said: "No thank you – I'll take someone else."

Some people can shrug that off and see it as the other person's loss. Not me. It shook me to the core.

It seems this is what Bear is struggling with. His USP has always been strength and endurance. Now his body is starting to show signs of ageing. He told SAGA magazine his new project, Celebrity Bear Hunt, was "physically exhausting." He describes being "in pain every day" after a parachuting accident in 1996. For a man who prides himself on superhuman physicality, this is obviously crushing.

ROSIE'S COLUMN: How I reframed my 5am wake-up time once I hit my 50s

And it's not just famous action figures who feel this way. I'm always shocked that my 80-something father is properly peeved that he is getting slower on his park runs.

It is connected to his self-regard. I also remember a late forties boyfriend who was elated when his work medical declared his fitness levels 'excellent' then crushed when it was caveated with 'for your age.'

I don't think women suffer from this as broadly. I certainly don't obsessively track how fast I run or how much weight I lift. It definitely doesn't affect my self-worth.

Men also seem to have a greater fear of death. Tech moguls such as Paypal founder Peter Theil and Larry Ellison (who created Oracle), have put in hundreds of millions of dollars into longevity research. Bear obviously thinks a lot about the end, comforting himself by saying: "I'm going to look at it (being 50) not in years, but in percentages. I'm sure we're going to be able to live to 200 in the next 30 years, so the way I see it, I had a very good 25 per cent birthday."

SECOND ACT: I'm quitting emotional labour – and you should too

Because of the way our society is structured men, especially successful men, have always been able to control more about their lives than women. But currently, no one can control ageing or death.

My thinking? It's inevitable, so we might as well have fun in the meantime.