is midlife crisis a real thing or an excuse?Why do some go through it and not others?Is it a medical thing or?

Question

I need to understand all I can.Is it hormonal?How so?

Answer 1

When a middle aged person begins to have an epiphany that half their life is over, they are confronted with their own mortality. The reaction is called a mid life crises, because they don't necessarily look back on the choices they've made in their past (their track record of behavior) as to why they've ended up dissatisfied in life.

It's like a kind of wake up call that insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results, so many middle aged people will make choices that cause the problem to be worse rather than measuring their past choices and then re adjusting their choices and behavior to make the rest of their life better.

So, they do stupid things. Like regress in their behavior, throw their established relationships out the window, and go after people who have no stop sign when it comes to sex etc.

Kind of pathetic, really.

Answer 2

I think that some of it is hormonal---in both men and women. How bad an individual is affected by mid-life hormonal changes depends on his/her physiology---but more importantly on their mental outlook.

Some people see midlife as the chance to make a new beginning (finish up that degree, etc.). Others see it as the beginning of the end. The whole glass is half full/empty syndrome.

Is it an excuse? Oh yeah! That can be a good or a bad thing. If a mid-life crises inspires a person to start investing for retirement, go back to school, or plan a vacation that they have always wanted to take (but put off for one reason or another) it can be very good. On the other hand, if they start running around on their spouse or taking foolish chances with their health or investments in an attempt to try to look or feel younger, they can end up spending the later part of their life trying to repair all of the damage they created during their middle years. I've seen people give up good marriages just because they felt they needed more excitement---only to end up alone and full of regrets later on.

Sure, there is some sadness that comes with the realization that we no longer have our youth (okay, so I'm probably not going to be the next super model) and that there may not be time to accomplish everything we want to. But, instead of spending time brooding about it, consider all the millions of positive things you can do with the life you have---and make the most of what you have with the people you love.

Answer 3

Yes there is such a thing as a mid-life crisis, and yes, it usually is hormonal.
I have gone through the menopause, and was affected by the changes going on in my body. They were real, and frightening, at first because I didn't understand that was what was happening with me. Finally I went to the doctor and he put me on homones. I'm not going to say every thing was fine after that, but at least I understood.
During a mid-life crisis your body goes through a lot of changes, causing your mind/emotions to do weird things, and making it difficult to make the right decisions. Many people do use this as an excuse, however, it is also difficult to remain sane and make the right decisions. But since there are people that do make the right decisions, we have proof that the right decisions can be made!
I was one of those that DID NOT MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS, until later. But I didn't use menopause as an excuse, it was just BAD decision making, caused from the weird things going on in my mind. At this time, I was finally diagnosed with being bipolar.
Even though I don't use this as an excuse, at least I know and understand the REASON for my screwed up thinking!

Answer 4

I think you need to first define what midlife crisis feels like to you, personally, in order to decide if it is "a real thing" or not.

For myself it was this feeling that my life needed to have a LOT more personal meaning to it than it had had up till then, The work I had been doing up until then all of a sudden felt like a waste of time, and of no real importance in the larger scheme of things.

Uh oh. Now what ??

The way I got out of it was I found myself doing some much more meaningful things......some vollenter work with people who really needed some help.

And....that really did seem to help those feelings of uselessness ease.

OK, and I also got the sportscar I had always been wanting, but......that was just gravy

:-)

Bob J.

Answer 5

I feel people use it as an excuse for the things they do. Sure everyone, men and women alike go through the change that is hormonal as they get older but some deal with it better then others.

Answer 6

Look it up, that's what Google is for.