Can you define “midlife crisis"?

Posted on September 07, 2022 by Efie Vogel, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

Often, I find myself using words, terms, and phrases without truly understanding what they mean.
“I love you”.
Do I understand this sentence? Of course, but I find it difficult to explain why. Take the first word of the sentence: “I.” Philosophically, I can question what “I” refers to. Can “I” be defined by human skin, bones, and organs? If a suspect is brought to trial many years after the crime was committed, what legal argument can be used to oppose the claim of the defense attorney who argues that it is impossible that his client is guilty since almost all the cells in the defendant’s body did not exist at the time of the crime. (* for future understanding of the renewal of human cells see the quote below from the site “Science ABC”). He is a different height, his weight continues to fluctuate, and his eyesight, blood pressure, hearing, hairline, and hair color are not the same. So, technically, there is no way he can be charged for committing the crime. Detain the initial perpetrator of the crime and accuse him. How can you arrest the person standing before us today since he did not exist at the time of the crime?
Alternatively, is it the mind, and not the body, that determines a person? When you change your opinions, shift beliefs, or develop new emotions, does this lead to the creation of a new person and the extermination of the initial one?
We all feel this is nonsense, -the renewal of cells or opinions does not create a new identity or a different human being. but can you truly explain why this logic is faulty?
An identical dilemma arises when we move on to the next word: “love.” Do you know how to define “love?” Is loving a spouse and loving a child, a friend, a pet, a massage, chocolate, a song, etc. all the same manner of love? If not, why are there different words for, let’s say, underpants (underwear, briefs, boxers, bloomers, bikini bottoms, shorts, long johns, panties, jockeys, thongs. lingerie, drawers, scanties, etc.), but when it comes to something as precious and essential as “love” we become word misers?
Now, let us question the phrase: “midlife crisis”
What is a “midlife crisis”?
Is it proven clinically and scientifically that there is an actual “midlife crisis” phenomenon? Can it be that there are no “medical/physical/emotional/mental” processes that commonly develop after the age of 40 that will cause a state of crisis?
Does satisfaction in life behave according to the U shape theory, the theory that claims that midlife is the age when life satisfaction hits rock bottom?
Does a midlife crisis result from circumstances and events, or are there physical changes that occur in the brain that are responsible for creating this “crisis”?
I do not know if a definite scientific or academic answer to these questions exists, and, for the time being, I do not need to. I wish to refer to “midlife” in general, and “midlife crisis”, just to the extent that the phenomena of emotional difficulties are common among people entering midlife and it has their tolls on life. Therefore, it will be wise to develop an approach to prepare for the inevitable, and hopefully fortunate, arrival of midlife.
Young adults, develop plans on how to live their future life. As time progresses, a gap most likely will develop, separating the estimated and anticipated path from reality. This can be due to unexpected changes, failures, or the creation of new goals and preferences. The chances that a young adult can pinpoint a lifelong program and construct a flawless path on how to achieve this destiny are very slim. Accepting the fact that, to some degree, things won’t go according to the youngster’s raw prophecy is a realistic approach.
Midlife is a period when changes still can be adopted, on the other hand, it is a time deep into life, so estimates are a lot more realistic and applicable than they were decades ago.
Midlife is a built-in opportunity to close the gap
While progressing throughout life, it is very likely this gap will only widen. As time goes on, the chance of new variables entering the equation will get higher, and the likelihood that things won’t turn out according to the way they were planned increases.
The result of living in such dissonance can cause hardship and distress and create situations on the verge of crisis.
Upon reaching midlife, the capability of drawing up new aspirations, goals, and ambitions that have a high degree of correlation with reality improves immensely. This ability improves as the years continue to pile up.
The moral of the story is that midlife is our blessing. We need this stage to properly conduct a recalibration of reality. We are left to decide whether we try to dodge midlife, or postpone admitting the invasion of the “aging effect”, the result is most likely to be that denying “midlife impact” entrance to our awareness, will bring on a “midlife crisis” situation.
I would like to point out two more morals.
(A) It is recommended to continue loving even though we can’t define what love is.
(B) Underwear, inconsequential of what name is used, is for the intermediate stage of life. Right after birth and before death we can be caught up in a diaper phase.