Blog Post 06: The MIDDLE AGE

MIDLIFE CRISIS

Midlife crisis can also be a cause of depression in men and women in normal life. The midlife crisis was researched by psychologist Carl Jung and according to him it is a simple proof of the process of maturing. After age 38-40, people experience an emotional transition in this process. Due to this, some people wish to change the surrounding conditions of their lifestyle and manage to do it easily. But those who are not able to do it easily can become a victim of depression or anxiety.

Many a times, husband and wife become so busy in earning money that they forget the purpose for which they are earning the money. In today's age, many people plan to work rigorously and earn lot of money only to retire at the age of 40. So after retirement, they can experience the life by doing all the things they actually wish to do apart from their profession or career by using the money they have earned. But till the age of 40, they lose their mindset in such a way that they cannot get out of that vicious cycle. They get affected by ailments like diabetes, blood pressure etc, restricting a lot of things which he/she always wish to experience and enjoy. This makes them loose interest in life. All their plans fail. That is why it is important to enjoy life along with work at every age. In this competitive era, if you plan something for tomorrow, there is no guarantee of such a planned “TOMORROW”. Whatever it is now, it is in this moment, so it is important to live and experience every moment to its fullest. It can only happen if one keeps a proper balance of work and enjoyment in his/her life in a planned manner.

In the pursuit of leading a good, prosperous and luxurious life, a person increases his financial liabilities so much that in order to fulfil those liabilities, he/she become a victim of a stressful lifestyle. The fear and insecurity of loosing or giving up the luxuries or lifestyle earned till the moment always keep bothering their mind. This bothering leads to depression. In times of crisis like sudden recession or corona pandemic, one gets sacked from the job and the stress of getting trapped in the economic crisis engulfs him/her from all sides.

This tension unknowingly starts affecting the family, the relationships etc. It becomes the reason for quarrel between husband and wife. Both begin to doubt each other's thought process. The husband and wife, who have worked hard till date to fulfil their family aspirations after marriage, have achieved a prosperous life till they reach the middle age, suddenly start feeling as if they are strangers to each other. There is a kind of communication gap in them. Both are financially capable and independent due to good careers and jobs. So, at this age, neither of them have a compromising mindset, which is the real foundation of marriage. Mostly this becomes the reason for divorce in the middle age. This also has an impact on the mindset of their children as well.

That is why it has become necessary to bring a minimalist approach in life to some extent. Due to which, one learns to keep a suitable synergy between the needs and desires, and will not face any financial crisis.

Sometimes there may be a feeling of loss of interest in life due to these changes and liabilities. The routine life that one has been leading for years may start sound boring. In this phase of life i.e the middle age, one can feel leaving what he/she has been doing till now and opt for fulfilling their aspirations and passions left long behind. There is nothing abnormal in that.

To avoid depression of this stage of age, it is important to pay attention to the following symptoms:

• Feeling uneasiness, tension or irritability.
• Feeling pessimistic or hopeless.
• Change in habits or sleeping time.
• Changes in eating habits.
• Repeated headache or feeling of digestive problem in stomach.
• Losing interest in fulfilling favourite things or hobbies.
• Feeling guilty, worthless or forced.
• Lack or loss of Sexual Interest towards the spouse.
• Suicide disorders coming to mind or feel like attempting.

This can definitely be done by bringing a little bit change in the lifestyle. Apart from that, behaviour therapy and talk therapy can also help in solving this problem.

Now the crisis of the Corona pandemic has spread throughout the world. But if any crisis leaves 100% ill effect, then inadvertently some good things also happen. In the Corona pandemic, work from home methodology was applied at maximum levels. Schools, colleges were also closed and online schooling was started. But one thing that happened in this lockdown is that the family members got an opportunity to spend time together. Working moms got more time to focus on their children's choices balancing their work schedule from home. Following the YouTube Recipe videos they got an opportunity to cook their children's favourites. Also they got a chance to reinvent their long lost cooking skills. Dads also started playing Carrom, Ludo, Video Games with their children. Senior Citizens were more likely to get infected, which is why many people called their old parents to stay with them. This gave them the opportunity and time to spend time with grand children. People in cities staying in nuclear family system experienced the fun of staying in a joint family system. The entire family started enjoying movies together on OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hot star in the weekends. The crisis raised due to the corona pandemic will definitely go away one day. But the lockdowns during this pandemic have certainly helped in reducing the communication gap in the families to some extent.

After all, in every negative situation, to find something positive & staying hopeful, is the only KEY to get rid of another rising crisis called DEPRESSION.

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Keep reading to know about the depression arising in old age, in the next blog "The OLD AGE". Till then stay safe and healthy, MENTALLY & PHYSICALLY😊.

- (KD Blogs)

✍ © Kunal Deshpande