People who are having a midlife crisis are thought to be struggling with their own mortality and, somewhere during midlife, they ditch some of their responsibilities in favor of fun. That’s why the term “midlife crisis” often causes people to picture mistresses and sports cars.
People who are having a midlife crisis are thought to be struggling with their own mortality and, somewhere during midlife, they ditch some of their responsibilities in favor of fun. That’s why the term “midlife crisis” often causes people to picture mistresses and sports cars.
Stress is the natural reaction our bodies have to threatening events. Heartbeat increases. Breathing gets shallower and quicker. Adrenaline and other chemicals are released into the bloodstream. Muscles tense.
Recent research suggests that women react differently to stress than men. While men tend to react with “fight or flight” behavior, this new research suggests that women produce a chemical (oxytocin) which may actually increase bonding or caretaking behaviour.
The biochemical changes that happen when we are under frequent stress can reduce our natural defenses, slow down our immune systems and increase our risk for accidents and disease.
The study found that there was a slight increase in daily stress across all age groups in the 2010s compared to the 1990s. On average, people reported about 2% more stressors in the 2010s compared to people in the past. That adds up to about an additional week of stress a year.
When researchers restricted the sample to people between ages 45 and 64, though, there was a sharp increase in daily stress.
“It was quite shocking,” Almeida said. People at mid-life reported many more stressors, about 19% more stress in the 2010s than in the 1990s, which translates to 64 more days of stress a year, Almeida said.
For the study, the researchers used data collected from 1,499 adults in 1995 and 782 different adults in 2012. The goal was to study two cohorts of people who were the same age at the time the data was collected but born in different decades. All study participants were interviewed daily for eight consecutive days.
– Eliminating stressors.
– Cultivating social support.
– Seeking good nutrition and exercise.
– Practicing relaxation and meditation.
– Protecting your sleep.
After analyzing the data, the researchers found that participants reported significantly more daily stress and lower well-being in the 2010s compared to the 1990s. Additionally, participants reported a 27% increase in the belief that stress would affect their finances and a 17% increase in the belief that stress would affect their future plans.
Cycles of stress and anxiety in middle age may have a developmental etiology, and may be a necessary part of the developmental process in this phase of life. Middle age often is punctuated by recurrent episodes of stress which do not appear to have a basis in any specific event. These cycles of stress instead are a function of psychological development in mid-life, with stress resulting from the need to integrate newly differentiated aspects of experience which cannot be integrated with an existing cognitive system of beliefs and values. Reintegration of the cognitive structure to accommodate these new elements reduces the stress, leaving the adult changed with respect to certain beliefs about self or world. These reintegrations are facilitated by an internal locus of control and an articulate self-other differentiation, both of which are important for a positive response to stress in middle age.
