Dear Dr. Fulbright,
I’m a 54-year-old man, divorced and dating again, and find that older women who are into menopause or post-menopause have different attitudes about sex and their own sexuality.  When I was a teen, I was the “hunter.” Now, in middle age and single, I find myself being “the hunted.”  Women who can no longer have children also seem to be more sexual now in their later years. Your thoughts?  —Mark

Dear Mark,
There are a couple of major things going on when it comes to older women being seemingly more “aggressive” with their sexual relationships. First, with some widowed or divorced women, their quest is to find a partner for their later years. In some cases, there is the need or hope for financial support. For others, fear of loneliness is a driving factor. Knowing that the pickings get slimmer with every passing year, they’re going to be that much more assertive with the men they come across.

Second, between education, media programming, and simply the times, many older women are embracing their sexuality as never before. They’re not afraid to see themselves as sexual — and flaunt it. They love the fact that they no longer have to worry about getting pregnant, PMS, menstruation, birth control or raising children. In so many ways, they’re free when it comes to responding to their sexual urgings.

Do you have a question about sex? If so, foxnewshealth.com wants to hear from you! E-mail your questions to drmanny@foxnews.com

Dr. Yvonne Kristín Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

Dawn Drexel, the mother of missing teen Brittanee Drexel, told WHEC News 10 in Rochester, N.Y. that she believes her daughter may have been kidnapped or may not be alive.

Brittanee, 17, has been missing since April 25 when she went to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for spring break.

Brittanee’s mother is no longer a stranger to the darkest possible chapter in a parent’s life story: the feared or actual loss of a child.

I have worked with several parents who have survived their own children. I have struggled with them against tides of grief that seem never to recede, but simply to become more expected, so they lose the power to sweep these bereaved mothers and fathers off their feet.

Losing a child lays bare the miraculous connections that can hold families together through thick and thin. No matter how contentious the relationships mothers and fathers may have with their children, the bond between them can’t be reproduced or entirely obliterated. At the ages of 50 and 60 (and older), my patients still want to make sense of the way they related to their parents in childhood, young adulthood and beyond. They are still sons and daughters, even if they have lost their parents.

So Dawn Drexel, brave enough to speak to the media at an unspeakable moment, may wander tonight into Brittanee’s room. Maybe she’ll lie down on her daughter’s bed, maybe she’ll let herself smell her daughter’s pillow. She may think she hears Brittanee’s footsteps or voice or her car pulling into the driveway. That’s no surprise when we consider the sounds of togetherness that come to play like music in the backgrounds of our daily lives, sounds that we stop hearing after a while, maybe because we take them for granted, maybe because no parent’s heart could maintain its rhythm while bearing full witness to the unspeakable, unfathomable beauty of one’s own child. We don’t hear a tenth of what we could, if we thought the music might end.

For those of you reading these words  — the lucky parents out there with children still close enough to hug, I hope you’ll give it a try tonight. Sit for a few minutes and listen to the sounds of your children in the house: their footsteps, their fingers clicking keys on a computer, the opening and closing of their closet doors, their voices on the phone and their breathing as they sleep. Let yourself marvel at the fact that your life has spawned another life and that you have the continuing, rare and wonderful opportunity to shape not only your existence, but that of another human being. Let yourself smile at the thought of their favorite toys (if they’re still young enough), their favorite clothes, the posters on their walls, their best friends, the sports they’ve come to enjoy, the hopes and dreams they’ve embraced.

Stay silent a minute longer. Then close your eyes, think about Dawn Drexel and her missing daughter Brittanee and pray for them both.

I’m going to do that right now. My children are asleep, a few dozen feet away from me. I am a lucky man and I know it.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.

Dear Yvonne,
My wife wants to get a little “kinky” in the bedroom, citing that we’re a bit “vanilla” compared to what’s out there. I don’t see anything wrong with what we’ve been doing, but was wondering what you think.
—Nolan

Dear Nolan,
While many people find comfort in seeing themselves as “vanilla,” pushing the envelope on occasion can do them a world of good, revitalizing their sex life and opening the door to new sensations and pleasures.

By challenging their sense of eroticism, especially in a trusting relationship, many people are delightfully surprised with their physical and emotional response to a new adventure. And if it isn’t their cup of tea, then there’s still a sense of accomplishment that they were willing to put themselves out there. By keeping passion alive and nurturing a monogamous, long-term relationship, most sex researchers will agree that what is considered novel can make or break a sexual relationship. So changing things up on occasion can only help you.

Dr. Yvonne Kristín Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

Dear Yvonne,
Given popular press depictions of sex — namely that we’re always supposed to be in the mood — how do I know if I’m “normal” when it comes to sexual desire?
—Bailey

Dear Bailey,
When it comes to sexual desire, there is no “optimal” level or universal “norm,” despite what the media or anyone else says. Sexual desire differs from person to person, and relationship to relationship. Depending on what’s going on in your life, your desire may increase or decrease at different times. Rather than measure yourself against what are often unrealistic societal standards when it comes to sex, consider what’s right for you.

When it comes to you and your relationship(s), you are the expert. Listen to yourself and consider if you feel good about the role sexual desire is playing in your sex life and life overall. If you find it needs a boost, make sure to concentrate on you and your relationship, rather than attaining some elusive level of “optimum” sexual desire.

Dr. Yvonne Kristín Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

Clark Rockefeller, aka Christopher Chichester, aka Christian Gerhartsreiter, isn’t much of a psychological mystery. Even from afar, never having examined this human chameleon, I can tell you a good deal about him.

Rockefeller’s recent behavior is a window on the whole man, not just the most recent incarnation. When he kidnapped his 7-year-old daughter Reigh Boss from a Boston street (coercing a driver to participate in the crime, assaulting the social worker observing the visit and violating the court order that established his supervised visitation to begin with), he showed that he has no regard for society, nor for the rights or feelings of others.

Without knowing “Rockefeller’s” diagnosis specifically, this kind of self-centeredness, along with a willingness to defy the law, speaks of narcissistic and antisocial character traits. It’s that kind of combination that allows someone to lie to others again and again, experiencing no guilt or remorse.

Most of us feel bound to our life stories not only by the experiences of our lives, but by our relationships to others. Those connections, when genuine, become part of our emotional reality.

At some point, perhaps in the setting of relationships early in life that caused him terrible pain, Rockefeller broke free of these interpersonal tethers. He lost the innate debt most of us feel to the truth and reality. He was able to deceive one person after another because he was at liberty to invent and reinvent himself, in order to feed his needs, without regard to those of others.

It is no surprise that Rockefeller warmed to the acting profession. It would have been second nature to him. His whole life was an act, after all. Neither is it surprising that he would believe he could spirit his daughter away, in disguise, and hope to disappear into the heart of Baltimore. That city was just one more stage for him, and Reigh was just another actor.

No regard for the truth. No regard for the law. No concern for a mother’s panic when her daughter is kidnapped. No ability to consider that his daughter would be forever psychologically traumatized by a sudden, permanent separation from her mother.

Could such a man kill? We certainly don’t know yet whether Rockefeller will ever be an official suspect in the murders of newlyweds John and Linda Sohus. But his ability to slip the binding of his own life story, together with his willingness to steal a child from her mother and attempt to sever their bond forever, means that he may have no respect for life stories at all—not even for whether they come to a violent and premature end.

When the entire world is a stage, and when you and everyone around you are merely actors, death can be written into a script without shedding a tear. Because the show must go on.

Dr. Keith Ablow is a psychiatry correspondent for FOX News Channel and a New York Times bestselling author. His newest book, “Living the Truth: Transform Your Life through the Power of Insight and Honesty” has launched a new self-help movement. Check out Dr. Ablow’s website at livingthetruth.com.

Dear Yvonne:
I am 67 and my wife is 69 years old. We are having the time of our lives with a
little help from Levitra. We are both very healthy and enjoying retirement with
golf, tennis, etc. Sure would like to see a study on sex after 65. Are we normal? 
Jim

Dear Jim,
I’m glad to hear that you have an active, fulfilling sex life since sexual intimacy in the later years is a huge quality of life component that a lot of people either ignore or don’t want to hear about. But in 2004, AARP decided to look at elderly sex in a repeat study focusing on those 45 and older in the United States. It found that 49 percent of those who had regular sexual partners were having sexual intercourse at least one time per week. It also found that about two-thirds of them reported hugging or kissing their partners on a regular basis. Finally, the study found that slightly more than half of baby boomers and seniors are engaging in sexual touch or caressing on a regular basis. So if any of that sounds like you and your wife, then you fit right in with the “norm.” If you’re a little friskier than that, then I say enjoy your norm!

Dr. Yvonne Kristín Fulbright is a sex educator, relationship expert, columnist and founder of Sexuality Source Inc. She is the author of several books including, “Touch Me There! A Hands-On Guide to Your Orgasmic Hot Spots.”

From silly to downright insane, some U.S. sex laws leave us wondering: what were they thinking?

Comment below.

Working long hours or worried about losing your job? No problem.

Stressed about the conflicts between your boss and co-workers? That’s more likely to make adults lose sleep, according to a study.

Even those working the graveyard shift are sleeping better than those who are stressing over interpersonal relationships at work, the study said.

What do you think?