Experts named the causes of the existential crisis in middle-aged people
By the age of 40, many successful people find themselves in a state of internal deadlock: outwardly they reach career heights, acquire a family and a stable income, but at the same time they face a feeling of emptiness and loss of meaning. All the details are in the Izvestia article.
The causes of the internal crisis
Ekaterina Catalina, a business psychologist and Candidate of Economics, notes that by the age of 40 a person reaches career heights, but at the same time acquires a mortgage and obligations to children and parents. The external success status conflicts with the internal stress. Economic uncertainty is more difficult at this age, as the space for experimentation and mistakes is limited.
The modern labor market also increases anxiety. Experienced professionals are required to constantly adapt and master technology, which is often perceived not as development, but as an endless exam. Catalina compared successful people's attempts to treat loss of meaning by increasing the amount of work with short-term loans to close the deficit, which only increases the burden in the future.
"For professionally accomplished people, a crisis often begins with a question: what's next? For those who don't feel fulfilled, they start by asking: why haven't I started living my life?" said the business psychologist.
Loss of one's own desires
Dmitry Yagudin, founder and head of the D.R. Yagudin International Neurouniversity, Doctor of Psychology, believes that the crisis arises due to the completion of a standard "life scenario". After the goals of education, work, and family are achieved, a person realizes that they have lost touch with their true needs. The long-term regime of performing external tasks leads to a misunderstanding of one's own desires.
The situation is complicated by social media, which creates the illusion of finding answers, but in fact only slows down human development. According to the psychologist, the digital environment provokes a "passive experience of life," when emotional satisfaction is derived from observing other people rather than from one's own actions.
"The very social networks that provide light relief are very dangerous at this moment. As if right now, "I'll find the right answer," <...> where should I go next. And this slows down a person, does not give them the opportunity to develop," the expert notes.
Ways out of the crisis
Experts emphasize that the crisis of 40 years is not a pathology or a breakdown of the system. This is a signal that the old motivation has been exhausted and the time has come for a reassembly of identity. During this period, it is important to separate financial fears from existential searches and to review your goals.
Yagudin advises not to drown out the state of activity, but to re-form a system of internal guidelines. Catalina recommends evaluating which obligations can be reviewed, and which expenses really support life, and not just serve the old, externally imposed image of success.
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