Midlife transition or what others may refer to as midlife crisis triggers many unpleasant images whenever it is brought up. For many, it connotes broken marriages, depression, struggle with aging, discontentment, and more. Psychologists, however, view it as a process of change where individuals in their middle-age move into a new stage in life. On that account, it should not be an unfortunate label applied to people working through a critical phase in life and should also have to be all negative experience. There are certain characteristics exhibited by individuals in this phase that must comprehensively be studied in an aim to understand the process of transition.
Midlife transition falls into seventh of psychosocial development’s eight stages, a theoretical model developed by Erik Erikson for many reasons. One, the stage occurs during middle adulthood, usually, for people aged between 40 and 65 years (Malone, Liu, Vaillant, Rentz, & Waldinger, 2016). It is the same thing that happens for individuals during the transition. Secondly, people going through the transition phase strive to engage in activities believed in making an impact that will outlast them like participating in positive changes, parenting, and the likes. Because the adult brain is capable of rewiring itself into midlife age, at this particular life stage, individuals have a unique type of intelligence.
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Types of intelligence common in middle adulthood are crystallized and fluid intelligence. Crystalized intelligence depends on the accumulation of knowledge and experience and includes skills, information, and strategies a person develops throughout their lifetime (Setiya, 2014). This type of intelligence remains steady throughout middle adulthood. Fluid intelligence, on the other hand, fundamentally relies on the basic skill of information processing. Fluid intelligence declines with time and the decline begin even before a person hits middle age. This explains why middle-aged individuals experience difficulties in solving problems.
Generativity as Erik Erikson uses it his theory signifies making a mark where a person engages in activities or initiatives that aim to make the world a better place. General characteristics of generativity include strengthening relationships, participating in mentorship programs, committing to others, and changing the lives of people of the next generation among others. Stagnation, is somehow, the exact opposite of generativity; this is where a person fails to find a way to make a difference. Stagnated individuals may feel disconnected from the entire society (Malone, Liu, Vaillant, Rentz, & Waldinger, 2016). Some characteristics of stagnation include not taking measures for self-improvement, lack of interest to get involved with others, poor productivity, and more.
The possible impact of adopting a healthy lifestyle during middle age can be substantial. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is a way of making midlife crisis work for you rather than against you. For instance, Lachman, Teshale, and Agrigoroaei (2015) suggest that instead of letting fear, anxiety, and severe stress restrict life choices one makes, coping with the underlying challenges of this phase through a healthier lifestyle can present one with an opportunity for successful personal growth. Overall wellness – physical, social, and mental – should be a key focus for overcoming the difficulties of midlife transition.
It is not only a person’s health that midlife transition impacts; it also has significant implication on how a person relates to his/her partner and children. The effect, however, varies according to psychologists. While some may be in some type of dying relationships or marriages, others tend to either establish new healthy or strengthen the bond of existing relationships. It all depends on whether an adult is in generativity or stagnation (Whitbourne & Willis, 2014). Many marriages fail at this phase, and the relationship with children tend to weaken primarily because of failed marriages and separation or children growing older enough to pursue their own dreams and live their lives.
Midlife transition is not all bad as people tend to believe; it is a phase that most people, at some point, will go through. Some have successfully made it through, many have been turned into rust. It all depends on how well a person is informed about the experiences of the life stage and how well he/she is prepared to face its adversities. As the analysis points out, adopting a healthy lifestyle and committing to it is significant to not only preventing some of the harsh realities of a midlife crisis but realizing and taking advantage of multiple opportunities it presents.
References
Lachman, M. E., Teshale, S., & Agrigoroaei, S. (2015). Midlife as a pivotal period in the life course: Balancing growth and decline at the crossroads of youth and old age. International journal of behavioral development , 39 (1), 20-31.
Malone, J. C., Liu, S. R., Vaillant, G. E., Rentz, D. M., & Waldinger, R. J. (2016). Midlife Eriksonian psychosocial development: Setting the stage for late-life cognitive and emotional health. Developmental psychology , 52 (3), 496.
Setiya, K., (2014). The midlife crisis . Ann Arbor, MI: Michigan Publishing, University of Michigan Library.
Whitbourne, S. K., & Willis, S. L. (Eds.). (2014). The baby boomers grow up: Contemporary perspectives on midlife . Psychology Press.
