Suffering through midlife crisis? Not able to differentiate between depression and midlife crisis? It is something extremely common and recurrent in women aged between 40 to 50 years of age. The phenomenon is known as a midlife crisis. The term was named in the early 60s! This in layman language can be explained as a crisis that arises out of confidence, this happens in mid-age as that is when people know they have left half of their lives worrying.
According to American Psychological Association, it is something that happens because you miss a certain period of your life and feel like you are losing on to everything. You may feel like growing old and start missing your teenage. Thou, there is no specific report or study to supplement this but at the same time, there have been some symptomatic observations that reflect it.
7 Symptoms of Midlife Crisis
Here are some of those 7 symptoms that might indicate that you are undergoing a midlife crisis.
1. Weight Fluctuations
It happens very often that midlife crisis resembles depression. But don’t mistake it with that, as it’s a little different. One major symptom of you suffering through a midlife crisis as a woman is your constant weight fluctuation. According to American Psychological Association, weight fluctuations are one real-time symptom that reflects a person’s mental, and emotional state. Also, they recommend that it may be a general symptom of a midlife crisis but if your weight varies at such a rate, then you should not wait even for a minute before getting it checked with a doctor.
2. Apathy Self
If anyone loses interest in the mundane daily life things, that they used to love a lot; it may necessarily be a sign signifying towards an unforeseen emotional crisis. Owing to the words of Yocheved Golani, being an apathy is something that acts as a complete game-changer. Especially if patchiness enters the room while you are undergoing a midlife crisis. This determines how likely you will be to seek help for getting out of the crisis. It completely alters the matter and hence baffles the sufferer’s brain as well as the psychiatrist’s brain. To help people who have already dived deep into patchiness, he says staying positive is the key. Just thinking about what’s working well for you and shaping your environment your way is the advantageous side patchiness offers you up.
3. Jealousy Behavior
Jealousy BehaviorIf you are running on a constantly comparative behavior then it is one fine symptom of a midlife crisis. In this, you seem to be constantly comparing yourself to others. Also, you become extremely jealous. It is important to note that there’s a difference between jealousy and envy. And in midlife crisis, it’s about being jealous. It is one of the most common traits of such people. They just feel that they could have been otherwise having been given a little more time, opportunity, monetary help. According to psychiatrists, it is explained that this feeling is an encouraging one as it shows that you are still trying to be better. But at the same time, if you engage too much into it… it can be quite a negative one. When it goes in excess, just know that your life and opportunities and especially choices have been different from theirs and hence this disparity falls.
4. Abnormal Physical Pain
We all know how easily our psychological pain transforms itself into the physical one! And the same happens with the midlife crisis psyche, it’s the pain that slowly and easily goes down well into your body and makes you feel like you are worth nothing! According to Mayo Clinic studies, gastrointestinal problems as well as the ones related to abnormal headaches, are the ones that are caused due to this. It often happens that we feel our headache is not able to respond to any kind of usual medication. It is because it’s linked with this issue. There has been a gamut of medical cases where doctors have to prescribe psychological assistance as well as strength medication to help the patient deal with this midlife crisis.
5. Deep Interrogation and Introspection
According to Dr. Ludwig, one of the main things that happen to patients undergoing midlife crises is that they feel guilty about the life they are living. Now and then such people question themselves on their existence, and whether the steps they are taking are in the right direction or not. In other words, you try to lay an evaluative graph of the planned and actual outcome of your life. You may feel that you are living the life society has wanted you to and not the one you have been wanting. You have a sudden urge to get off the mundane track and adhere to the calling of one’s soul. According to Dr. Ludwig, “the question is not that it’s right or wrong, the question is that you get so much of lone time just because you are off track. ” But on the other hand, it is argued that this crisis is a good one owing to what it serves you for future. The ones who undergo such introspection are more focused on their future as well as they are ready to bear further such crises with much ease.
6. Indecisiveness
When you feel so wrong about every single thing going on in your life, you may feel an urge to take a step in haste or jiffy. It can be anything. Right from an ill judgment about yourself and acting following that to even being suicidal! The more dangerous one out of the two is being false judgmental about yourself. This judgment may become a hurdle for the therapeutic effects. When you take such impulsive decisions it is important to note that these things have a long time effect. And this long-term effect is not good for either of you. Neither for the one getting affected by your decisions passively and not for you too. It is only going to be a bag full of regret. It acts as a short-term escape from reality which makes you pay long-term.
7. Out of Mental Soundness
You may at times feel like you have foregone your mental stability. According to Dr. Leah S., MD, Female Sexual Medicine Program, “I often have patients coming to me, and saying that they are too dramatic about everything, that they don’t know where have they kept what, that there’s the tendency of short memory, that they are baffled enough to differentiate things. ” It happens because of an alteration in estrogen level. It can happen any day or year just before you are about to come to terms with menopause. It should be noted that menopause here doesn’t mean the final one, it means a pausal symptom of around a year.
So, these are some of the things that reflect well towards the condition called-“midlife crisis”. If you or anyone around you are undergoing the same, it is imperative to take good care of them. Also, try diverting their mind towards the positive side this condition holds. It can be an extremely productive one of the view from a distinct perspective.
Stay happy, stay healthy! 👍