Work on your happiness, we say. Make your "to do before I die" list and get to work knocking things off it. Skip over midlife crisis.

Not enough people are listening -- at least in the UK. »more»

Are people wired to think they can do "better" than their current choices? New research says:

... when consumers expect to make similar choices in the future, they selectively pay attention to information that suggests that an alternative would be better. These consumers also tend to disregard information that indicates their current choice is the best possible choice.

Admittedly, the researchers were looking at shopping behavior ... but marriage, career, and other aspects of life's path are in some sense also a matter of weighing one's choices. »more»

How would a 'near-death' experience ("NDE") affect your life? It may tell you a lot about yourself and the changes you should make even without experiencing one. The near-death experience and its aftermath also gives guidance to dealing with midlife crisis and possibility heading one off. »more»

Empty nests. Menopause. Midlife crisis. Those are some of the reasons midlife is supposed to cause depression in women.

But as with so much information about midlife, that is at best only part of the story. »more»

Do you feel like you are in a battle for your life?

A lot of us do. We feel that unease and restlessness and want to make it go away. The harder we try to ignore it, distract it or drug it, the more miserable we feel. »more»

Poetic justice was in the air last night at Sara Davidson's book signing at Dutton’s Bookstore in Brentwood, California. Davidson thoughtfully chronicled her years of age-related abandonment by the "Hollywood" establishment and much of the publishing world. An appreciative audience included friends, fans and family (including the father of her children, and her mother) -- the people in her life who never deserted her. »more»

A new study of half a million Americans and Europeans concludes that people are less happy in middle age than when they are younger or older. »more»

Writer Sara Davidson life was falling apart and she didn't know what to do.

"For the first time since college, I have no work. After 24 years and several award nominations, I can't get hired to write for television. I can't sell articles to magazines or books to publishers and I don't know how I'll earn money. ... During this same period, my lover of seven years, a cowboy artist I'd expected to spend the rest of my days with, rides off with no discussion. My children, who've occupied my first thoughts on waking and my last before falling asleep, are off at college. ... My kids, my lover, and my livelihood are being yanked from me at once and there's nothing I can do."

Why, she wondered, was she still here? »more»

After many years of working around human development, I have watched people who go through significant growth experience stress in their families. Even when change is for the better, change is still change. »more»