A midlife crisis is a concept we are far too familiar with. It is something that is rampant in our popular culture and embedded in our collective psyche. The depiction of a quintessential midlife crisis usually involves a middle-aged man quitting his day job, buying a sport scar, and abandoning his wife for a younger woman. But are people of a certain age truly more susceptible to initiating an entire life overhaul?
Research shows that many aspects of the quintessential fortysomething meltdown are untrue. First of all, life dissatisfaction can start at any age, men and women are equally as susceptible to this malaise, and midlife crises are definitely not an inevitable part of life. In fact, studies reveal that genuine midlife breakdowns appear to affect only 10 to 26 percent of the population.
Despite these early misconceptions, some realities of midlife and its potential upheaval still remain. It is undeniable that when we get to a certain age our perspective on time changes and we begin to count the years we have left rather than our years since birth. Psychologist Laura Carstensen, director of the Center on Longevity at Stanford University, has shown that our goals are greatly influenced by this subjective sense of a life half-empty. Some people begin to focus on spending quality time with friends and family, while others begin to review their lives and revisit unfulfilled dreams.
Psychologists have shown that older individuals begin to focus less on their careers and more on maintaining what they have. This transition can lead to a feeling of work demands outweighing one’s ability to cope. Occupational psychologist Amanda Griffiths revealed that this perceived job stress peaks between ages 50 and 55. Such changes in focus and aspiration can seed life dissatisfaction. Further, in 2012 economist John Haisken-DeNew investigated life satisfaction in a 30-year-old longitudinal study of more than 30,000 people. He observed that happiness levels drop continuously throughout adulthood until the early 60s, after which they increase until age 75. In another 2008 study, economist David G. Blanchflower confirmed these results, indicating that life long happiness levels follow a U-shaped curve, bottoming out in the early to mid-40s.
The physical and psychological aspects of aging can also cause distress. The rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression all increase with age. In fact, statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reveal the highest rates of depression occur between the ages of 40 and 59. Furthermore, the neuroscientist Antonio Giorgio tested subjects using MRI imaging and revealed that the brain’s white matter volume increased continuously until one’s early 40s and then decreased somewhat rapidly there forth. But keep in mind the fact that these deficits are usually offset by greater experience and knowledge. Nevertheless, the body and mind encounter definite changes and susceptibilities as middle age approaches—not to mention the often distressing hormonal effects of menopause and andropause that set in after about age 40.
With all that said, midlife stress does not condemn us to out of control behavior, especially in our relationships. A 2011 Kinsey Institute study of more than a thousand couples worldwide found that middle-aged men and women find more satisfaction in their relationships and sex lives the longer they have been married. This same study also revealed that people who enter middle age with a long-term partner have a good chance of staying together. In addition, despite the typical depiction of the husband walking out of the marriage, studies show that women instigate two thirds of all divorces (although possibly because their husbands are behaving badly).
It is a definite misconception to think that the outlook at middle age is grim. A Harvard University-based interdisciplinary project surveyed more than 7,000 people in the U.S. between the ages of 25 and 74 and revealed midlife to be largely a period of calm and stability—most relationships hold together, most people stay healthy, and many enjoy financial security. Further, studies have also shown that when older individuals are asked what age they would most like to be again, the majority chose their mid-40s. Ultimately, the quintessential midlife breakdown is quite exaggerated and the truth behind it is only temporary. With that in mind, passage through midlife does not require upheaval and ruin, but it can rather entail a welcomed second act.