How Midlife Crisis Symptoms Can Affect Your Mental Health: Managing Challenges

Every stage of life brings new changes, challenges, triumphs, and struggles, and midlife is no different.

Though the definition of "midlife" can differ, this period is generally thought to occur between approximately 40 and 60 years old.

Experiencing a midlife crisis can be a difficult, isolating, and upsetting experience, no matter your situation. There are several causes and symptoms of midlife crises. These can differ from person to person, which can make it challenging to identify whether what you're going through is, indeed, a midlife crisis or something else. There are ways to manage the challenges of this season, like finding a new hobby, practicing mindfulness, or seeking out a therapist.

Causes of a midlife crisis

Studies have found that, on average, overall happiness and contentment are often highest around one's late 20s, presumably when many begin to experience greater certainty in what they want out of life and have more financial freedom and personal stability. 

According to these same studies, the average period of the most psychological distress typically occurs between 46 and 53. The researchers theorize that midlife crises around these ages could be spurred by peaking in one's career or experiencing career shifts, increased thoughts of mortality, caring for children and aging parents, and dealing with children growing up and leaving home. These ages also often coincide with higher divorce rates, though research has not established an exact correlation between this and midlife crises.

Overall, various triggers can cause a midlife crisis. Though many believe midlife crises are driven exclusively by aging, several factors can prompt a midlife crisis. These include but are not limited to transitions, changes in marital status through divorce or death, or the maturation of children, including watching children move out or have children of their own. Dissatisfaction with your career or financial status can also contribute to a midlife crisis.

Aging also plays a part. The physical signs of aging, such as shifts in appearance or menopause, can trigger a midlife crisis for some. Similarly, aging can cause thoughts of death and mortality, leading to mental health challenges that can trigger a midlife crisis. 

Symptoms of a midlife crisis

Much like the causes of a midlife crisis, the symptoms look vastly different from person to person. Symptoms depend on the individual and may not always be recognizable as the signs of a midlife crisis; they may look like symptoms of other health changes or mental health conditions.

That said, certain symptoms frequently happen in people going through a midlife crisis. In particular, changes in sleep, weight, hygiene, behavior, and attitude are all common signs. Mood changes, such as becoming angry, irritable, anxious, or sad more frequently, can signal a midlife crisis. Boredom, a feeling of emptiness, disinterest in activities, and lethargy are more common symptoms.

Many people experiencing a midlife crisis have feelings of nostalgia, or they may feel guilty, shameful, worthless, fatigued, or isolated. Impulsive actions or thoughts of infidelity sometimes occur, depending on the person. Sometimes it can be difficult to discern whether you are having a midlife crisis or experiencing a mental health disorder, like depression.

What is the difference between a midlife crisis and midlife depression?

Midlife can be challenging for various reasons, including family transitions, career dissatisfaction, grief, and traumatic experiences. It's important to note that depression and other mental health conditions can happen anytime, including midlife. Because of that, it's helpful to identify whether you are experiencing a midlife crisis or a mental health condition.

Midlife crises, depression, or other mental health changes can be triggered or worsened by many situations or events. In addition, a midlife crisis can turn into another mental health condition like depression, especially when not treated.

The best way to evaluate your mental health is to speak with a licensed professional counselor. Licensed therapists, like those at BetterHelp, are experienced in working with patients with various mental health conditions. They can recognize the symptoms of a midlife crisis and offer you helpful strategies to cope.

What challenges come with a midlife crisis?

As its name suggests, a midlife crisis can be challenging and scary. You may feel sad, guilty, angry, bored, shameful, jealous, or other upsetting emotions. In addition, midlife crises can bring about impulsive decision-making, affecting your relationships with family, friends, spouses, or employers.

A midlife crisis can also trigger other mental health conditions, such as major depressive disorder (MDD) or anxiety disorders. Those conditions can cause their own set of challenges to manage.

Midlife crises can feel isolating. Because they often involve dissatisfaction, guilt, or withdrawal from family and friends, you may feel alone. Many feel embarrassed or ashamed, making the issue even more isolating and challenging to manage. This can make it harder to seek help or find strategies that help you manage, cope with, and work through your midlife crisis.

Strategies for managing a midlife crisis

For many people going through a midlife crisis, it can be essential to find helpful strategies to combat their symptoms and feelings. Even minor midlife crises are valid and can be worth addressing. Whether that treatment comes from professional guidance or personal life changes, giving yourself the space and time to work through your feelings and symptoms can help you move past this stage and into greater satisfaction and contentment.

Successful management strategies for a midlife crisis might be different for you than others, but there are numerous tools you can use to move through it. Some people find a resolution with strategies like creative endeavors: beginning a new hobby, rediscovering an old creative interest, or simply spending more time in nature. Others benefit from mindfulness-based approaches, practicing gratitude, or beginning a new exercise routine. You may also appreciate meeting new peers or friends to discuss the challenges of midlife and expand your social circle.

One of the most successful strategies for managing a midlife crisis is therapy, even for physical changes like menopause, which can potentially trigger a midlife crisis. Therapeutic strategies like talk therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and mindfulness-based therapy can help you deal with the symptoms and causes of a midlife crisis. 

Online therapy offers many benefits for people at this stage of life. If you’re caring for children or elderly parents or putting in long hours in at the office, online sessions enable you to attend therapy from anywhere you have an internet connection. You can do it from home, the office, or even on vacation.

Studies have found online mental health therapy to be just as effective, if not more so in some cases, as traditional in-person therapy for various conditions and concerns, including PTSD, anger, grief, depression, anxiety, and more. One study conducted nine trials over several years comparing online versus in-person cognitive behavioral therapy approaches and their effectiveness among 840 participants. It concluded that online treatment has effects similar to those obtained through in-person treatment.