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The crisis of adolescence, the crisis of early maturity, the crisis of aging … And among them lurked a midlife crisis. What it is? How is it different from seasonal blues? And what are its possible consequences? A psychiatrist and a psychologist speak.
A midlife crisis can be easily confused with seasonal blues or simple boredom. Work, hobbies, circle of friends, even family seem already too familiar and understandable. Most of all I want to drop everything and do something unusual and unexpected. So how do you know that you are facing a crisis? About this portal experts said.
How to understand that this is a crisis?
According to the psychiatrist, psychotherapist Mikhail Valuysky, not all people have a real midlife crisis. And it is easiest to characterize it as a state in which we do not understand how and why we should live. For example, in the past we might have had a goal of “working hard not to live in poverty” or “learning, getting a job, getting married, having kids,” as our parents used to say when we were kids. And now, when the goal is achieved, we do not know where to go next.
The midlife crisis has key signs by which it can be recognized:
the feeling that everything that happens is meaningless,
irritability,
fatigue,
feeling cheated,
lack of joy.
What are the consequences of a midlife crisis?
“The midlife crisis does not always reach the real depressive episodes, but it can develop into a real depression with all its manifestations,” notes the psychiatrist.
In addition, the crisis can also manifest itself in physical illnesses, psychologist Yulia Pritchina warns. So, men at the age of 50 often have heart attacks and strokes, and women gain excess weight, as they begin to «seize» the problem.
“Another side effect of the crisis is when mature people see the meaning of life in their children and grandchildren and begin to take an active part in their lives. What children are not happy about at all, but it is important for parents to be needed.
How to overcome it?
One of the key ways to get out of the midlife crisis is to learn to enjoy life in new ways, says Mikhail Valuysky. “In a midlife crisis, most of all you want to destroy: get a divorce, quit your job. But this is the wrong way. The crisis is resolved not through destruction, but through creation.”
What can be done?
Start discovering new hobbies
Try yourself in volunteering or charity,
Spend more time taking care of yourself through exercise and proper nutrition.
And here’s what you absolutely should not do: try to resolve the crisis with the help of cheating and alcohol.
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