MID LIFE CRISIS - A REAL THING?
And if so, when is that? When you're 35? 40? 50? Several studies have been done on the subject, and like with any juicy important questions, there are many sides to the story.
According to recent study that surveyed 1.3 million people across 51 COUNTRIES, people experience a decline in happiness starting in their 30s until around age 50, when they start feeling happy again.
Another study shows the “mid-life low” seems to be around age 35 to 55 - people in this age group were more likely to hate their jobs. Yet another study mentioned shows that people ages 40 to 55 were more likely to feel overworked, due to demanding jobs and family obligations, rather their age.
Regardless, psychologists say there isn't really such a thing. In other words, they can't find a connection between age and psychological related issues.
Why is this even important? For one thing, if you're in that age bucket of 35-50 and feel dissatisfied with your life or career, it's important to remember that you have choices, and that there is a way out. I wrote several posts on how to get out of the dark pit of gloominess or unhappiness. Not a good place to be, and that type of work, happiness hygiene as I like to call it, is something we need to take care of on a daily basis. Brushed teeth? Check. Meditated? Let's go. Notice that voice, and the story you tell yourself. Make sure it's a compassionate one. Journaled? Take a few mins during commuting time and jot down how you're feeling, think about your priorities in a healthy, accepting way. Making time for your closest people like friends, family, community? Make this a priority.
On the other hand, the National Institute of Aging finds that only a 1/3rd of Americans over age 50 claim to have experienced a mid-life crisis. Half attribute their crises to “inner turmoil and angst associated with getting older,” while others point to a traumatic event outside their control, such as a divorce.
From the perspective of my own qualitative research conducted last year, I found that lack of satisfaction can happen at any age. The feeling that life could be better, more meaningful, occurred across ages, and seemed more driven by career choice. Lack of satisfaction was more pronounced among people employed in larger corporations, often due to lack of entrepreneurship, creativity and self-expression. I found that people in careers that allowed for more creativity, or a sense of helping others, are significantly happier.
Of course, happiness is a complex notion, and is arguably as impacted by our choices, as is impacted by our DNA. It's impacted by our childhood, our parents' happiness and their values, by our community, our self awareness, our devotional practice, our community, our day to day experiences, our health, our habits, etc.
In the upcoming HAPPINESS WORKSHOP (coming up in third weekend of OCTOBER), we'll dig deeper into what impacted who we are today, we'll do exercises to raise awareness of our motivations and self-blocks. The first workshop I organized back in May was a success in every way. I really look forward to this one.
More details to come!
