Midlife crisis

From WikEd

1 Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of
2 Application in and effects on classrooms and similar settings
3 Evidence of effectiveness
4 Critics and their rationale
5 Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations
6 Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories
7 References and other links of interest

Descriptions, definitions, synonyms, organizer terms, types of

The term midlife crisis was coined by Canadien psychologist Elliot Jacques when he published an article titled, “Death and the Mid-Life Crisis�? for the International Jounrnal of Psychoanalysis in 1965 (psychologytoday.com). Rathus and Nevid define the midlife crisis as a crisis experiences by many people during the midlife transition when they realize that life may be more than halfway over and reassess their achievements in terms of their dreams. Midlife tranisition, a term coined by Daniel Levinson and colleagues in 1978, occurs between the ages of 40-45 for men and about 5 years earlier for women. There is research indicating that midlife crises occur more often in men than women.

Men and women both feel as if they have lost meaning in their lives and my also feel trapped. They realize that their dreams may not be fulfilled and what they have to look forward to for the next phases in their lives does not seem enticing. A person may grow tired of their own lives, their occupations, their spouse, and may seek to make change or fix certain areas of his/her life. This is also called individuation, which is a process of self-actualization that does not end until death (wikipedia).

Midlife crisis may occur naturally or may be triggered by life-altering events such as death, divorce, children leaving, etc. Empty-nest syndrome is a result of children leaving home. As children grow, leave home, and become independent, both parents may feel a loss of meaning as their children exhibit the ability to care for themselves. However, as parents work through this stage, they often reconnect to each other and discover that the time that used to be taken up by children can be spent on self-fulfilling activities.

Carl Jung’s model contains five stages of midlife – Accommodation, Separation, Liminality, Reintegration, and Individuation. Accommodation refers to the different masks or personas people use for different situation in their lives. Basically, accommodation is the different ways people present themselves to others. Those who present personas that are not in line with their inner selves tend to have more difficult times in midlife as opposed to those who present personas close to their inner selves.

Separation deals with the evaluation of the different personas and masks and discovering why certain masks are used and if they refelct the inner self accurately. In the Liminality stage, the person may feel unsure of his/her identity and looks towards others for feedback. Reintegration occurs when the person when the person begins to feel comfortable with himself or herself although a bit of uncertainty is still normal. Finally, in the individuation stage, the person recognizes inner comflict, accepts it, and attempts to discover a balance between these conflicts.

When going through midlife, the above five stages are meant to be a guide, not a strict rule of order. The stages can take varying amounts of time for different people and can also be left and reentered. This process of midlife stages is there to help those going through midlife realize that they are not abnormal. These thoughts and feelings are being experienced by others going through the same process.

Application in and effects on classrooms and similar settings

Although it is highly unlikely that educators will enounter students in K-12 going through midlife crises, it is very possible that educators will deal with parents of students going through midlife crises. In today’s society, people are having children later in life and children with older parents will not likely understand what is going on in their parents’ livesIt is important for educaators to be aware of stressful situations in their students’ lives and these can effect theis their students’ daily interactions and school work.

Educators also deal professionally woth colleauges, administrators, secretaries, custodians, and community members on a daily basis. Understanding that all these people may be in different stages in their lives and consciously being aware of their state of mind can be effective in forming lasting, beneficial relationships.

Evidence of effectiveness

It may take years and countless effort to work through a midlife crisis, but it will most likely result in gaining more satisfaction and enjoyment in life.

Critics and their rationale

Sheehy (1995), as mentioned in Rathus and Nevid, uses a different name for the same period of time in adulthood. The “Age of Mastery,�? between the ages of 45-65, is a time to figure out what to do with “second adulthoods.�? “Second adulthood�? refers to the years left after a person reaches 50 years old.

Sheehy’s research indicates that Americans use this time fulfill new hobbies and goals in life. Sheehy also conceived the term middlescence, a time of searching for adults entering the “Age of Mastery�? that has similarities to adolescence

Another view is that midlife crisis is emphasized by the media portraying midlife crises as those in their forties who all of sudden begin acting like teenagers, spending exorbatant amounts of money on lavish, unnecessary needs and leaving their spouses for much younger partners.

In the MacArhtur project, nearly all of the 750 middle aged people polled recognized the term midlife crisis, but less than 25% actually believed they expereinced one themselves. Further probing revealed that only 8% of the 750 had connected the realization of aging to their midlife crises. The rest of those believing they expereinced midlfe crises did not tie these crises to aging, but to other transitions in their lives.

Alternative explanations due to Diversity considerations

Menopause, astage experences by most women in their middle ages has a male counterpart refered to as andropause. For women, menopause is time when the ovaries cease to produce hormones while in andropause, or manopause as some refer to it, testosterone gradually decline. However, there is not proof that all men go through andropause as there is for all women experiencing menopause. Some link andropause to midlife crises in males, however, low testosterone levels cannot explain all the symptoms of midlife crises.

Signed "life experiences", testimonies and stories

Move over midlife crisis, here comes the quarterlife crisis. Studies have identified that 20somethings are experiencing "quarterlife crisis" in which they question their jobs, their goals, and their life. I wonder what we can attribute this new development to? Is it the pressure and competition? Are we becoming weaker and succumbing to our trepidations? I am just shy of 25 and I sinceley hope that I don't experience one of these. -N.R.

The above comment makes me worried; I feel this way and am in my mid twenties. Is this truly a quarter-life crisis, or is this a bad omen for the short future I have? I think that it is these pessimistic ideas that all people have at some point in their lives, usually the middle, people like me are just early bloomers, even for pessimism. -JmJ

Midlife crisis what an understatement. It should have been called "Midlife Catastrophe". I have spent many an evening with my beloved friends and family talking about how it is that we could feel so desparate at the point in our life where we should be at our peak. This whole phenomenon is still a mystery to me. I wish there was some way to avoid it. I wonder if society feeds the monster called "midlife crisis" with all its glamour and woesome ways? So maybe we should all just avoid watching shows like "Desparate Housewives". I also wonder if women during other centuries expereiences some of the same midlife struggles? C. Yeoman

Some times we do not even realize that we go through a midlife crisis. We just feel unhappy with what goes in our life, so we look for something that would change that and assume that would make us happy automatically (new job, partner, religion, or location). I did not even know about this term and I had this experience and, fortunately, I stopped when it was not too late. An unpleasant event may bring us back to our old lives, and that does not have to be a very bad event, but just enough to bring us nice memories from before the crisis and appreciate more what we had before. I understand that some times there is no way of going back and that may mess up the whole future of somebody, and that is the reason for a very close look to this issue before being drawn in. A. R.

As i head quickly towards that forty mark I find myself trying to hurry up everything. Almost as if I am going to run out of time. Everything is starting to get perspective and become more clear as I age. I am tremenously happy in my marriage and with where I am in life, so the "crisis" seems to be with wanting to get things done. I want to make a difference, to help others, to do something important with my life. Those things are the important things to me. My children are almost grown, and all of the things that I used to get caught up in are clearing out of my life. This has been a wonderfully freeing thing. Almost as if I am seeing life in a new light. Maybe I will hit a "crisis", but right now my life better than ever. A. Dorough

As I recently turned fifty, I look back and wonder when the midlife crisis did or will occur. My marriage gets stronger with time and I like myself and my life more with each passing year. That being said, it seems that I have watched patterns of life as I have gone through it. During my twenties, it was spent raising babies and attending weddings. During my thirties, I was caught up in being part of my childrens' extra-curricular activities and watched people in our lives have their marriages fall apart. The fourties were spent with hormones starting to fluctuate, friends beginning to lose their parents and again, attending weddings, although now for the children of our friends. At this point in time, I'm in my sixth year of teaching (I'm a late bloomer and I stayed home to raise my children) and have never been happier. Is the crisis due to an age or a mind set? D.LePla