Midlife crisis

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The term midlife crisis (English for “ midlife crisis ”) means a mental state of insecurity in the period of life from around 30 or 40 to 55 years. It is widespread in the German-speaking area. In contrast to mental illnesses (see mental disorder ) there is no clear demarcation on the one hand to natural, healthy mental life and on the other hand to specific mental disorders of adulthood.

Origin of the term

The term "midlife crisis" in 1957 by the Canadian psychoanalyst Elliott Jaques coined the on a speech to the British Psycho-Analytical Society reported on patients who are in the age recognize their mid-30s that they have exceeded the midlife. Jaques made a connection to the effects that have been known since ancient times, as they are presented in the introduction to Dante's Divine Comedy :

When I was halfway through our life,
I once found myself in a dark forest,
Because I had lost my way on the right path;

He identified the knowledge of one's own mortality as the trigger. Using biographies of well-known artists and an anonymous 36-year-old patient, his talk described the symptoms of a rise in religiosity, sexual promiscuity, a sudden inability to enjoy life, a hypochondriacal concern about health and body, and compulsive attempts to stay young. In 1965 he described the midlife crisis in a specialist article in The International Journal of Psychoanalysis , which aroused great interest in the professional world. Only years later did he publish that the 36-year-old patient was himself.

The books by journalist Gail Sheehy from the 1970s onwards were influential in spreading the term , including “In the Middle of Life” from 1974, which was translated into many languages.

Symptoms and course

Since the term is not defined as a mental illness, the term " symptoms " as such is not appropriate here. Very different complaints are named as signs of the midlife crisis. Most of those affected report mood swings, ruminations, inner insecurity, dissatisfaction with what has been achieved so far (professional, partnership, family). The risk of the signs of a midlife crisis overlapping with the symptoms of a mental illness in the strict sense of the word is great (see below). If no mental illness develops from the stress, most people leave this phase of life with the feeling of increased inner maturity and a more conscious attitude towards life.

In the everyday use of the term, clichés are often introduced, which stands in the way of a sharp definition to this day (see also Ursula Lehr , 1977, Psychology of Aging ).

frequency

How many people get into a psychological crisis in their middle of life, which could be described as a midlife crisis, is difficult to estimate. Due to the lack of standardized and generally recognized criteria and the poor clinical demarcation from normal and pathological mental states, epidemiological information cannot be collected reliably. Since the term is often used in analogy and to a certain extent to the menopause associated with the biological changes in women in mid- life , the everyday use of the term is aimed strongly at the male sex.

causes

The concept of the midlife crisis is based on the assumption that most people align their existence with life goals. Despite all the individual differences, the chances of realizing one's own goals in life are often reflected in the middle of life, which can lead to resentment and uncertainty, also with regard to one's own identity (role in family, work, social life, etc.) in the sense of the term. More specific causes are neither exactly defined in the biological nor in the psychosocial area.

Instead, the temporal component is assigned its own effectiveness: In the “middle of life”, on the one hand, stressful life events (limited physical and mental performance, experiences of separation and loss, see below) often come together. On the other hand, the middle of life is a turning point in the relative experience of time: while the young person is able to imagine his remaining lifetime as the multiple of the life already lived, in the middle of life the idea of ​​the remaining time is considerably shortened in relation to the time already spent . In the context of this changed subjective experience of time, balances are (not always consciously) carried out, which represent a basis for critical reflection on what has been achieved so far and can develop up to a crisis of identity and meaning.

The now clearly perceptible physical aging process can also be a possible cause of a midlife crisis.

Mental development phases in adulthood

The phases of psychological development in adulthood have not yet been presented as clearly from a scientific point of view as those in childhood and adolescence. Erik H. Erikson was the first psychoanalyst to attempt to describe age-related internal conflicts beyond childhood and adolescence for adult life. He summarized the conflict areas of intimacy vs. Isolation in young adulthood, fertility vs. Self-isolation in middle age, as well as ego integrity vs. Despair in old age as psychological tasks to be mastered in each phase of life.

From today's perspective, however, the psychological development phases in adulthood are, despite all the efforts, not as clearly delimited from one another as is possible with the psychobiological development of the child, because the rhythm depends less on more limited biological than on open socio-psychological conditions and the maturation processes of adults Personality rather continuously and individually very different. A frequent subject in the discussion of the term midlife crisis as well as in psychological research into adult development is the change of role and identity of the adult (after reaching adult status from around 20 years of age).

Differentiation from mental illnesses in the real sense

So far, the term has not been used in clinical psychiatry and its diagnostic systems. In contrast to most classified mental disorders, an attribution is made with the choice of words with regard to the beginning, the course and the cause of the condition, which is controversially discussed in the professional world. From a therapeutic point of view, it is essential to distinguish from the term classifiable and also treatable mental disorders that can occur at any age in an adult. Sufficiently investigated test instruments are available that are used in clinical psychology.

Nevertheless, a clinical rejection of the concept of the midlife crisis should not hide the fact that many clinically well-described mental disorders must also be assessed in the context of the current life situation, i.e. the conditions of the middle stage of life must also be taken into account. In addition to psychosocial conditions, this also includes biological factors. For example, effective protective protection of female sex hormones for certain mental disorders can be considered proven. In comparison, the data on the effect of a more slowly falling testosterone level in middle-aged men are not sufficiently conclusive to show relevance for the validity of a specific psychological state. However, separation and separation processes that are experienced more often at this age (separation of children, separation from partner, death or serious illness of the parents) as well as stress from their own physical illness or long-term unemployment are associated with symptoms of mental disorders for many people at this age. This is where the actual justification for using the term in colloquial contexts lies.

Midlife crisis as a motif in literature and film

See also

literature

  • Jürgen Daiber: The midday demon. On the literary phenomenology of the midlife crisis. Mentis publishing house. 2005 (The phenomenon in literature)
  • Erik H. Erikson: Identity and the Life Cycle. Suhrkamp Taschenbücher Wissenschaft, 1973, No. 16.
  • Anselm Grün : mid-life as a spiritual task. Vier Türme Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-87868-128-1
  • Inés von der Linde: Men in the midst of life - health behavior and job management: empirical studies . Kovac. 2007. ISBN 3830028865 (experience of stress, experience of complaints, satisfaction with work)
  • Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello : In the middle of life - The discovery of middle age. 2007. 160 pages. ISBN 978-3-03823-318-3 (For describing middle adulthood)

Web links

Wiktionary: Midlife-Crisis  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Midlife Crisis: 5 mistakes, 8 symptoms + 20 tips for a personal crisis. Learn.net, accessed on August 24, 2019 (German).
  2. ↑ a b Midlife Crisis - Psychological crisis in the middle of life. Retrieved August 24, 2019 .
  3. ^ A b How the Midlife Crisis Came to Be . The Atlantic, May 29, 2018
  4. ^ Death and the mid-life crisis . October 1965, PMID 5866085