I turned 40 last year and all of a sudden, I have a longing to pack my bags and travel halfway across the world, is this what they call a midlife crisis?
The idea of a midlife crisis brings to mind a sports car, possibly a younger mistress or a younger love interest. But now that I’m 40 and I’ve also reached the theoretical halfway mark, just in what form would a midlife crisis look like for me?
According to Wikipedia “A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically between 45–65 years. This phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person’s growing age, inevitable immortality and possibly the lack of accomplishments in life. This may produce feelings of intense depression, remorse and high level of anxiety, of the desire to achieve youthfulness to make drastic changes to their current lifestyle or feel the wish to change past decisions”
First of all — is a midlife crisis even a real thing? Is there a psychological basis for this phenomenon? There seem to be some schools of thought that suggest that a midlife crisis is more of a social construct. This is solidified by the fact that midlife crises do not exist in certain parts of the world. There is also the fact that a lot of life changes occur when people are between the ages of 40 and 50. People get divorced, their elderly parents pass away, children move out so there is the added fact of empty nest syndrome. Can we say that these life changes are actually what is construed as mid-life crises? Or are the midlife crises triggered by these life events?
Signs of a midlife crisis might include but are not limited to:
- The need for adventure/ change
- Depression
- Anger/ Blame
- Apathy
- Questioning beliefs
- Rash decision making
- Affairs
- Big-ticket purchases
- Listlessness
- Indecision
- Weight gain
There are however ways to cope and manage this “crisis “such as
- Acknowledgement of what you are experiencing/ feeling
- Take time before making big decisions
- Create new goals
- Eat a healthy diet
- Excercise
- Get therapy
I still have questions about navigating this “mid-life”, but what I do understand is the importance of self-care and managing mental health well, so that when those big life changes do occur, healthy coping mechanisms will come to the rescue!
