A midlife crisis is an emotionally turbulent period that usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 60 when you begin re-evaluating your life. Suffering a midlife crisis is more common than you think, but they’re still relatively misunderstood. Here are 17 reasons why people experience a midlife crisis.
Getting older
Aging is one of the most common triggers for a midlife crisis. Seeing your body, face, hair, health, and mobility change is difficult and makes you aware of your own mortality. Looking in the mirror and noticing how much you’ve changed over the years can be terrifying and set off an identity crisis.
Getting bored of parenting
Parenting is tough, and your family dynamic constantly changes as your children grow. Parents.com describes how parenting can become monotonous and suffocating as you think about how your life was before. Having a midlife crisis doesn’t mean you don’t love your kids; it just means sometimes you’re stuck in a rut.
Experiencing stress
Being middle-aged is one of the most challenging times of your life. You have to juggle a career, a family, a household, and a social life simultaneously, which can be stressful. Sometimes, a midlife crisis is triggered by a breakdown due to stress, especially when society dictates that we must suppress our emotions.
Getting bored
It might sound unrealistic, but it’s absolutely possible to have a midlife crisis due to boredom. Despite leading busy lives, many middle-aged people become stuck in a rut doing the same things every day. This manifests as a desire to completely change their circumstances just to experience some variety.
Experiencing grief
While grief makes it hard to move on with life, there’s light at the end of the tunnel. However, many people experience a midlife crisis first after losing a loved one, especially a parent. Grief takes a lot of energy out of us while also reminding us how fragile life is.
Financial woes
With inflation continuing to rise, many people are experiencing financial woes. A midlife crisis makes you ultra-aware of your money and sometimes increases your desire to spend it. That’s why people joke about middle-aged people impulse-buying expensive things, even if they desperately need the money.
Career dissatisfaction
Sometimes, the career you once loved can become a burden. Forbes reports that many people become dissatisfied with their jobs and experience the need for a career change at 40. This is also called a ‘mid-career crisis’ and can be solved by finding a new job that makes you happier.
Getting divorced
Divorce is on the rise for people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, and when you’ve been with somebody for a long time, divorce is a massive shock to the system. It’s also a common cause of a midlife crisis because it sends you into turmoil about your identity and your life’s purpose.
Job loss
Though career dissatisfaction can be solved by swapping professions, job loss is much harder. Losing your job when you’ve got a house to maintain, children to look after, and bills to pay is tough, so many adults find themselves spiraling into a midlife crisis after being sacked.
Health scares
Our health becomes more fragile as we age, so a mid-life health scare can completely alter your outlook on life. Many people experience a midlife crisis even if their scare was a false alarm because they realize they’re not immortal and could easily become ill.
Growing responsibilities
After hitting middle age, you might think you’ve got your responsibilities in order. However, they only continue to grow, especially if you have kids, and this can become overwhelming. It shatters any illusions of life becoming easier, which is too much for some people.
Disrupted sleep
Sleep is essential for our health, so people who don’t get enough often become physically and emotionally unwell. According to Psychology Today, roughly 4 out of 10 midlife adults are missing out on good sleep, which can be enough to trigger a depressive episode that becomes a midlife crisis.
Lack of success
When we’re young, we have many ideas about what our lives will be like, and often, that includes fantasizing about career success. When you’re middle-aged, it’s natural to become disillusioned with how things turned out, especially if you’re surrounded by successful people. These feelings of inadequacy can trigger a midlife crisis.
Feeling lonely
Loneliness is a leading cause of midlife crises. Middle-aged adults, especially men, are encouraged to accept loneliness as a part of life, even though it’s incredibly detrimental to their mental health. Feeling alone is enough to make you question your identity and make impulsive changes to fix it.
Unfulfilled ambitions
We all have ambitions, but the sad reality is that most of us won’t fulfill them, as getting older means being realistic about what you do for the sake of your family. However, it’s sad to know you won’t achieve your dreams, and this disappointment plays a role in a midlife crisis.
Physical dissatisfaction
Not only do your changing looks make you question your mortality as you age, but they can also change how you feel about yourself. When someone experiences a midlife crisis triggered by how they look, they obsessively try to change their appearance to hide aging, which can be as extreme as plastic surgery.
Loss of purpose
Finally, we all need a purpose, but many people lose their sense of purpose at the mid-life mark. Verywell Mind observes that this is often because they have to come to terms with the fact that half their lives are over. To escape the midlife crisis, they must cultivate a new sense of purpose, which is a positive mindset.