Middle age is the central time in the life of a human being. It is the span between early adulthood and late adulthood. In the United States, middle age is perceived to be the life between 40-65 years (Lumen Learning, n.d). This age is the most stressful time for most individuals in this age bracket. Most people feel disappointed with underachievement and restlessness as they struggle with aging, careers, family, and holding to a sense of purpose. For example, the generation born in the baby boom period (between 1946-1964) is now in their midlife adult age and their late adult ages. Inflation is a trend that is pushing Americans to delayed adulthood. The great recession, for example, had a great impact on the economic status of many Americans. Since the trend of inflation continues, the trend of delayed adulthood will remain.
Middle age crisis affects all people within this age bracket. This is because most people keep looking back to assess the achievements they have made, or they could have made, before the onset of their middle age. According to research, most people in this age struggle with accomplishments such as careers, employment, additional sources of income, marriages, health, and life satisfaction (Rauch, 2018). Equally, the middle-life crisis affects people in various social-economic categories. People in the lower social-economic classes are more likely to suffer from the midlife crisis than people in the upper social-economic status. Those in the lower categories are likely to suffer from depression, other mental health-related illnesses, and fast aging. According to Infurna et al. (2020), the life disparity between upper social economic and lower social-economic status in the middle is a consistent trend. It is a trend that is likely to continue in the coming decades.
I have not achieved midlife crisis since I have not hit 40 years, which is the beginning of midlife. However, I believe that midlife is the prime time in the life of a human being. This is because, during this age, an individual is most productive and has the time to correct and learn from the mistakes they made during their youthful years and use them to rebrand themselves. My relationship with my prime life is to start achieving my goals at a young age so that I would not be racing against time during my middle age.
References
Infurna, F. J., Gerstorf, D., & Lachman, M. E. (2020). Midlife in the 2020s: Opportunities and challenges. American Psychologist, 75(4), 470–485. Web.
Lumen Learning. (n.d.). Introduction | Lifespan Development. Courses.lumenlearning.com. Web.
Rauch, J. (2018). Midlife crisis? It’s a myth. Why life gets better after 50. The Guardian; The Guardian. Web.