Submitted by roxxysim on January 31, 2010 - 3:02pm.
Midlife Crisis is a natural process (first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung) and it is a normal part of 'maturing'. However, Midlife Crisis can sometimes feel very uncomfortable, and cause people to seek psychotherapy or counselling, or to make radical lifestyle changes that can be very damaging and are regretted later.
It can help to view Midlife Crisis from the perspective of differing personality types, as this will give you a greater understanding of what is happening.
If you are going through midlife crisis, you might experience a wide range of feelings, such as:
Discontent with life and/or the lifestyle that may have provided happiness for many years
Boredom with things/people that have hitherto held great interest and dominated your life
Feeling adventurous and wanting to do something completely different
Questioning the meaning of life, and the validity of decisions clearly and easily made years before
Confusion about who you are, or where your life is going.
These feelings at mid-life can occur naturally, or they can be brought on by external factors.
One external factor can be debt. The availability of credit has become easier in recent years, through credit cards and telephone/internet loans. This has made it easier to accumulate debt, and many people turn to debt consolidation or debt management services in order to find their way out of difficulty.
Another external factor can be a bereavement, such as the death of a parent - or other significant loss or change, such as redundancy or divorce. These things can cause significant grief which can be difficult enough to come to terms with on their own. But if they are compounded by the natural process of 'mid-life transition' this can make the whole process of adjustment bewildering and overwhelming.
However, even in the absence of difficult external circumstances, there is still an internal process of change that takes place during midlife. If you don't understand that process it can feel like a 'crisis' and as you attempt to come to terms with it, you may find yourself making poor or irrational decisions that you regret at a later date - eg: leaving your job or spouse and throwing away the security that you have built up in the first part of your adult life.
If you do understand the process of midlife transition, it can make it easier (though still not easy) to navigate your way through it.
Find More By Clicking On These Links:
Start Here: Our Key Articles About Midlife Crisis
Submitted by Greg on August 7, 2006 - 4:51pm.
This "Twenty Questions About Midlife Crisis" section is an ongoing effort to collect all of LifeTwo's best information about midlife crisis in one place. »more»
Submitted by Greg on July 19, 2006 - 11:46pm.
While researching her book The Breaking Point: How Today's Women Are Navigating Midlife Crisis, Wall Street Journal columnist Sue Shellenbarger discovered that "women not only undergo bigger changes than men in middle age, but they also by some measures have a more positive attitude about their prospects in life."
One key source was "Turning Points In Adulthood," a chapter in the MacArthur Foundation's "How Healthy Are We? A National Study of Well-Being At Midlife." It shows that men and women are distinctly different in a measure of life fulfillment.
Researchers found that before 50, less women than men feel they have "fulfilled a special dream" in the last five years (24% vs 40%). But after 50, women's fulfillment goes up -- to 36% -- while men's falls to about 28%. »more»
Submitted by Greg on August 24, 2006 - 11:01am.
Our research into midlife crisis has convinced us that there's no such thing.
No one thing, anyway. »more»
Submitted by Greg on August 23, 2006 - 2:39pm.
The conventional wisdom is that midlife crises usually feature extramarital affairs.
But one may have little to do with the other.
Middle-aged people -- of either gender -- have affairs. But many have nothing to do with the usual midlife crisis. Rather, they are the result of placing low value on the relationship, and poor bonding with one's spouse. »more»
Submitted by Wesley on January 31, 2008 - 10:29am.
According to a comprehensive study of data from 80 countries, researchers at Britain's Warwick University and America's Dartmouth College have confirmed what people in their forties have known for years, middle age is indeed truly miserable. Researchers discovered that "for both men and women the probability of depression peaks around 44 years of age. »more»
Submitted by Greg on June 1, 2007 - 6:07pm.
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»
Submitted by Greg on June 7, 2007 - 10:34am.
Hundreds of thousands of families will soon see their youngest child off to college, and that means an outbreak of despondent mothers and fathers suffering from empty nest syndrome.
Or does it? »more»
Submitted by Greg on February 27, 2007 - 11:35pm.
What will happen when a generation that's been told it's special in every way faces middle age?
It's not going to be pretty. New research says that Gen Y is more narcissistic that prior generations. And that means they aren't well suited to the mid-course corrections necessary in midlife.
Gen Y's midlife crisis may be the largest in history. »more»
Submitted by Greg on April 16, 2007 - 9:23am.
LifeTwo has long argued that what many people call their "midlife crisis" is really their normal reaction to a crisis that could occur at any time, but happened to them in midlife. Their "crisis" could be their emotional response to divorce, death in the family, job loss, serious illness, or other trauma. We've held that one such type of "midlife crisis" is actually depression.
Now a new study shows just how blurry the line is between feeling down after negative life events and clinical depression. »more»
Submitted by Greg on May 23, 2007 - 7:53pm.
"Midlife crisis" may be many things -- depression, a reassessment, dissatisfaction, or unease -- but a key contributor can be career issues.
But like so much about midlife, there is little hard data on what happens to midcareer adults. »more»
Submitted by Greg on October 23, 2006 - 10:28pm.
Here's where we're going to put links to interesting "what I did during my midlife crisis" stories as we come across them ...
Submitted by Wesley on December 27, 2006 - 11:10pm.
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Our Most Recent Articles About Midlife Crisis
Submitted by roxxysim on January 31, 2010 - 3:02pm.
Midlife Crisis is a natural process (first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung) and it is a normal part of 'maturing'. However, Midlife Crisis can sometimes feel very uncomfortable, and cause people to seek psychotherapy or counselling, or to make radical lifestyle changes that can be very damaging and are regretted later. »more»
Submitted by roxxysim on January 31, 2010 - 2:56pm.
A midlife crisis is experienced between the ages of 40 and 60. It was first identified by the psychologist Carl Jung and is a normal part of the maturing process. Most people will experience some form of emotional transition during that time of life. A transition that might cause you to take stock in where you are in life and make some needed adjustments to the way you live your life. »more»
Submitted by SingaBoy on January 9, 2010 - 3:00am.
Dear All
Firstly, thanks for taking your time to look at my situation (I won't say its a problem yet) and sharing your insights on this. I came to this website when searching for midlife crisis on the Internet. »more»
Submitted by cc_amethyst on January 2, 2010 - 10:20am.
I discovered my husband had some intimate texts with another woman by accident. Then I checked his phone bill list and found a lot of messages and phone calss made in midnight with this woman. My husband told me that there was nothing going on between them except for some chat when he felt lonely. We have been working in different places for several years. »more»
Submitted by Gemma on December 23, 2009 - 4:00pm.
First, let start by saying that I am very thankful that this website is here. I had no clue anything like this existed, the midlife crisis and this website, until I was thrown into this basically overnight!! I have been happily married for 24 1/2 years now, and married my best friend!! »more»
Submitted by Kitara R. Wilson on December 21, 2009 - 8:53am.
By definition, according to the Penguin English Dictionary 2nd Edition sitting here on my desk, a crisis is "a time of acute difficulty or danger..." So if you break that down, to embrace the term "midlife crisis" really translates into "my life is in or is headed for acute difficulty or danger". »more»
Submitted by Kitara R. Wilson on December 21, 2009 - 8:41am.
The more I step into this place of being open about early midlife celebrations, the more women I've noticed coming forward with their stories of frustration and loss. And when I say "loss", what I'm hearing more and more is that they've lost sight of who they are and are frustrated about who they've become. »more»
Submitted by Lisa on December 8, 2009 - 11:12am.
Anybody interested in the TV show? It's on TNT. Let's watch it and discuss! It's about 3 men in their fifties and what they go through in career and personal lives. Should be good.
Submitted by purposeful2009 on November 29, 2009 - 8:06pm.
Where do I begin...this is my first post EVER so please forgive my spelling, rambling, and anything else that may make this hard to read.
I have read some of the postings and decided to ask for help from all of you as my situation is unknown to me. »more»
Submitted by Lisa on November 20, 2009 - 9:17am.
I'll cut right to the chase: I think my parents taught me that love is putting up with a lot of ill treatment and staying no matter what.
My own notion of love was that it would be like having a best friend and lover for the rest of my life, and we would have little problems but we'd adjust. »more»
Submitted by Greg on November 6, 2009 - 12:30pm.
Here at LifeTwo we believe that 'midlife crisis' is often a normal depression that happens in midlife. So anything that reduces the risk of depression also reduces the risk of midlife crisis. »more»
Submitted by Deborah Hayes on October 15, 2009 - 1:31pm.
When you wake up in the morning what’s the first thing you think? Is it:
“What a glorious day, I can’t wait to get up and see what this day brings.”
How about at the end of the day? Are you smiling, feeling creative and energized?
If not, do you think your attitude would be better if you thought more positively? »more»
Submitted by rich_lost on October 3, 2009 - 7:59am.
This is my first post, so please understnd if I leave out facts. Last Nov. my wife of 24yrs. got up and left for three weeks. She came back a week before christmas and announced the "I love you, but...." you all know the rest. I begged her to stay for christmas. she did, big mistake!! »more»
Submitted by aconfusedwife on September 3, 2009 - 5:54am.
I need advice, I have been married for 20 years, we have a teenager and I thought we were great..15 months ago In May 08 he said "I love you, but I am not In Love with You" ( how tacky) and he wants to find his happiness elswere, but will stay until our child graduates in 2010. »more»
Submitted by Deborah Hayes on September 2, 2009 - 8:47pm.
Do you know what you really want in life? Have you taken the time to really slow down long enough to take stock of just where you are and where you want to go? What do you think of your life as it is? »more»
Midlife Crisis : Books, Websites, and Other Resources
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