Midlife crisis is a term which was coined in the eighties.
It describes a time between your mid-thirties to mid-sixties. Suddenly, you might have a feeling your life has just passed you by. There is much more for you to experience, yet, you might find yourself bound in a situation, where you cannot just drop everything and do your own thing. You might feel a yearning, the rebel within awakens. You know you must do something, yet, you do not know how or what it is you are supposed to do.
A midlife crisis is not gender-specific but is experienced differently by men and women.
There are many triggers for a midlife crisis.
It can be that your last child leaves home, the death of a parent, the loss of your job – situations, which demand change. This change might occur suddenly and often without any warning. You might want to turn the clock back to the times, when life was good; when you were young, slim and healthy and looked at a life full of options. You might feel like the rug was pulled under your feet all too quickly.
Is it a “midlife transition” or depression?
Mental health practitioners frequently describe a midlife crisis as a time of transition. And indeed, for some people, the call for “there is more to life” might transition to enormous growth. Those are the people who take change with a stride. They embrace every opportunity, and nothing can get in the way of this change to a new identity.
For other people, however, change might not be such piece of cake. They might not even feel the yearning for something more. All they feel is, life is not as it used to be. Maybe they feel stuck, overwhelmed by feelings they cannot place. There might even be a feeling of loss of identity,
In those cases, the midlife crisis has developed into a depression.
When your midlife crisis has become a depression look for those signs:
- Change in eating and sleeping habits
- Restlessness, anxiety or irritability
- You do not enjoy your hobbies any longer
- Physical pains, which do not respond to treatment
- In severe cases even, thoughts of suicide
While antidepressants might lift the depression, they do not cure the cause.
The cause of your feelings is a call from your spirit, inviting you to change.
Now is a time to find out who you are outside the family duties or work environment. You are invited to create a life that suits you. A life that nourishes your body, mind and soul. Right now, you might not know how to achieve all that, but there is help. You need to know, that you have all the answers already within. You do not need to look anywhere else.
Some people realise such introspection through meditation, others through sport or by joining a group or club, they never had time for. Your midlife crisis is a call to find yourself. To discover who you are meant to be and what life is all about.
By saying yes to changes and opportunities throughout this transitional time undreamt-of doors will open for you. No longer will you need to look back at the “good times back in the day”, but you will be able to embrace the future and all the gifts it holds for you.
For more information or a free introductory session, contact me here.