Midlife – often a roller coaster, but rarely a crisis.

The ‘mid-life crisis’ is one of those socially persistent notions that is also largely a myth!

• There is no evidence that a crisis is any more common in midlife than at any other time.
• Jacques coined the phrase midlife crisis back in 1965 but his research was based on male clinical patients and has not been replicated.
• Life events may, however, have more impact in midlife – such as being made redundant or getting divorced.
• The word crisis has its origins in the Greek word Krisis which means deciding or decision point – which is much more accurate.
• Choices and changes made in midlife have the potential to make the greatest difference – to your health, happiness, and wealth. There is still time.

I’ve seen it called the ‘midlife collision’ (by Dr Lucy Ryan), the ‘midlife maelstrom’ (by Eleanor Mills) the ‘age of becoming’ (by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox) and a ‘midlife rollercoaster’ by many. They all resonate with me!

Whichever description you prefer, research consistently shows that mid-life can be a uniquely challenging time with the collision of social, physiological and emotional challenges (Lachman et al., 2015; Ryan, 2023; Jackson, 2019).

My own research found midlife, and change during midlife, is a ‘dance with fear and confidence’ – a colourful and intriguing interplay between life factors, a mele of emotions, ups and downs, ins and outs, and plenty of spinning.

Midlife is really a time for understanding and support rather than ridicule and dismissing. The perfect time for a midlife review. The perfect time for pausing to make deliberate choices. The perfect time to master your dancer.