Latest revelation is that there is no such thing as a midlife crisis. Pffffft, please. Apparently it’s because people are happier in their forties than they were at the age of 18. This is according to a new study by the New University of Alberta which says that on the whole, “the perceived slump in life satisfaction during middle age doesn’t occur at all.”
Instead, it is claimed that happiness steadily climbs from our teenage years into middle age.
The new study followed the fortunes of two groups – 18-year-old Canadian high school students and 23-year-old university seniors – over 25 years, making it one of the most in-depth studies into the subject ever conducted.
Well, there we go, that’s the problem. The subjects are Canadian.
Anyways, both groups were asked to regularly report on their happiness, relationship and employment statuses and their health. In both groups, it appeared that they became happier when they hit their 30s due to job and relationship upturns and once they reached the age of 40, they were even more content. Yet the professor of psychology and co-author of the study Up, Not Down: The Age Curve in Happiness from Early Adulthood to Midlife in Two Longitudinal Studies still thinks that the midlife crisis is a myth.
The results question the myth [showing] there can be a crisis at any time in life, and it is not confined to any particular age period.
The notion of the midlife crisis first was first noted in the 1960s and fast became a cultural trope – adults between the age of 37 – 50 buying sports cars and making “ill-thought fashion choices.” There are also signs of more ‘modern choices’ such as going to Glastonbury, joining Twitter, and taking vitamin pills.
We want people to be happier so that they have an easier life trajectory. And also they cost less to the health system and society.
A few points: just because people are going through a midlife crisis it doesn’t necessarily mean they are unhappy. Also, if there’s no such thing as a midlife crisis, then please explain this:
Ill-thought fashion choices indeed.
[source: telegraph]
