Delayed carousing: what are the risks of middle-aged extremes
Going all out is about a midlife crisis. According to psychologists, after the age of 35, people are capable of unusual actions and often decide on things that they could not even dream of in their youth. Science attributes this to the fact that, according to the laws of biology, humans are programmed to survive in nature up to a maximum of 45 years, and then the body does not know what to do, and it is implemented in the most unexpected ways. How to "go crazy" is as safe as possible for your health - in the Izvestia article.
Why do people decide to go extreme after 30
You can't say that a person starts to "freak out" because something suddenly "clicks" in his head, says clinical psychologist and body therapist Sergey Volkov.
— This is not an instantaneous process, but it is quite expected, although it often looks to others like a rapid, chaotic and sudden change in behavior. — he comments. — Every person goes through such changes in life. This period is called the midlife crisis, and this average age just fits into the range from 35 to 50 years.
According to the expert, a person who has crossed the 30-year mark is looking for answers to existential questions: "Why do I live?", "What will happen after me?", "Why be rich (poor)?", "What is evil?", "Is there a God?", etc. The answers to them help in the search for new meanings of life.
— What was relevant at the age of 20 ceases to be of interest at 35-50. A person begins to rethink his existence anew, and not philosophically, but actively. This is not a question of depressive pseudo—intellectual fabrications, but a search for more stable footholds in the real world," he explains.
The clinical psychologist draws attention to two causes of age—related metamorphoses - biological and social. From the first point of view, people as biological objects in the wild, without full-fledged food, in the absence of medicine, hygiene and safety, would not have to live to 35-40 years.
— In the period from 35 to 45, people begin to restructure their physiological processes, since the body has already completed all its tasks for biology. But he doesn't know what to do next," says Volkov. — And in all people, the hormonal system changes during this period, but not within the framework of pathology — it's just a kind of reconfiguration of the body.
Against the background of these changes, some people start sleeping more, looking for activities that require solitude and concentration, while others, on the contrary, move more actively and hit the extreme.
—The social reason is that by middle age, a person has the means and opportunities to realize their desires, both financially and psychologically," the Izvestia source continues. — For example, at the age of 18, someone dreamed of traveling, seeing the great pyramids of the Maya, but they had to go to college, solve the issue of moving away from their parents, and arrange a personal life. At 30+, most of these issues have already been resolved, you can buy a ticket and be at the foot of the pyramids in 16 hours.
A clinical psychologist gives another example. Any man wants to "be cool" and get more attention. According to the expert, this is the right aspiration, but at the age of 20 a person has few opportunities to realize it.
"And so a socially accomplished man, free from obligations to underage children, banks and parents, unexpectedly buys a motorcycle for everyone and from now on catches an interested look at every intersection," explains Volkov.
In addition, in addition to compensating for the "boring" past, during middle age, the foundation is laid for the meaning of life in old age, the source believes.
— Now in our society there is practically no established social image of a successful and happy old age of an ordinary person. And the period from 30 to 55 years is a time when everyone lays the foundation for their lifestyle and interests after retirement. It seems to us that at the age of 65, when work and active social communication are behind us, life seems to end. But in fact, a person still has 15-20 years of full-fledged life ahead of him. And it is in middle age that its foundation is formed," the expert emphasizes.
Warm-up for pre-retirees
Realizing your innermost dreams is useful, says Sergey Volkov. In a sense, our desires contribute to the development of the world. Even if a person eventually realized that his hobby was too expensive, difficult and troublesome and left him, he still fulfilled his dream. And the expert calls the state of balance between "I want" and "I can" the main issue of middle age. A person decided and did something that he once considered impossible for himself, gained some experience.
— At the age of 40, you regret your health, missed opportunities, or the irrational use of your past life, but at the same time you realize that it's not the body that defines a person. Physical beauty or strength no longer solve anything, but there is enough experience, knowledge and connections to solve problems in a non—straightforward manner and without spending energy," the clinical psychologist continues.
After 40 years of age, authority begins to be perceived not as an external attribute, but as the ability to manage one's capabilities, he emphasizes, noting that this is a time when "I can" becomes much stronger than "I want to."
— And at the age of 50 comes an understanding of the structure of life. This is the period when a person learns to be free. Children have matured, work no longer seems like a distant peak, and society and the state are greatly reducing demands in social terms. People are learning to manage themselves, their time and their lives, and now no one will blame them for it, well, maybe if they just envy," the editorial source encourages.
Sergey Volkov is convinced that you can take on any task, but he advises you to remember the consequences, to learn how to calculate them — this is also an important life stage. The expert calls any hobbies that harm others frankly strange and even indicate some kind of mental problems.
— At any age, hobbies related to harming other people are a sign of some kind of human disadvantage. And it's about the desire to harm for your own pleasure," he explains.
The line between insanity and infatuation is usually always subjective, says psychiatrist Alexei Vilkov.
— It depends on the degree of immersion in the hobby. If, for example, a person keeps the edge of reason and all his other affairs are also represented normally, then this is just a hobby," the Izvestia interlocutor argues. — In the case when his life is reduced only to this extreme action, that is, he is fixed on it, but at the same time his work, personal life and other activities suffer, we can already say that this fixation goes beyond the norm.
What not to do to middle-aged people
Denis Prokofiev, a general practitioner, cardiologist, and holder of the "Moscow Doctor" status, recommends conducting a medical examination before deciding on something extreme, be it scuba diving or hiking in the mountains, even if the person outwardly seems healthy.
"The main bases are checking the cardiovascular system for rhythm disturbances, detecting hypertension and atherosclerotic vascular lesions," he notes.
In an interview with Izvestia, the doctor emphasizes that initially any physical activity requires quite serious preparation. At the same time, individual characteristics of a person must be taken into account.
— There are simply no universal sports or any kind of physical activity. Everything is individual. It should be understood that regardless of age, people may have diseases that prevent active exercise, the cardiologist draws attention to.
As an example, he cites congenital heart diseases in the form of clinically significant ones: mitral valve prolapse, paroxysmal forms of tachycardia, vascular problems, high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, autoimmune diseases.
"This is a cascade of diseases that have virtually no age,— explains Prokofiev. — They can develop from birth to old age. Unfortunately, under the influence of certain factors, the body triggers the ailments that a person lives with, compensating for them with drug therapy, but this imposes certain restrictions on physical activity.
The minimum "set" before a marathon, race, scuba diving, skydiving, etc. is considered by the doctor to be a general blood test, electrocardiographic examinations, lung X-rays, urine analysis and checking of biochemical parameters in the form of glucose, cholesterol, as well as an assessment of kidney function and other vital organs. This is a base that must be performed without fail.
— Of course, the thesis "movement is life" is always relevant. Therefore, physical activity is necessary, and physical inactivity is regarded as a serious risk factor. But what degree of physical activity and what type of it to choose is certainly better determined together with the doctor, the expert believes.
The safest, although boring at first glance, activities are anaerobic exercise, swimming, and walking without achieving any outstanding results. For some, even such actions are a real breakthrough after decades of sedentary office work and lying on the couch on weekends.
— Of course, it is important to monitor the pulse, calculating it using the formula 220 minus age, — says the cardiologist. — This is the maximum value that should not be exceeded during physical activity. And it is important that the amount of calories entering the body is correlated with it. This relieves a person of abdominal obesity, strengthens the cardiovascular system.
A simple activity can serve as a basis for further participation in more serious activities such as running or tracking. And going out, for example, to run a marathon without preparation, as they say, right off the bat, is very dangerous for your health.
The doctor emphasizes that in youth, joint mobility and the condition of the spine do not cause problems — a person has not yet acquired a bouquet of diseases more typical for 30-50 years. Even if there have been no injuries or injuries throughout life, unfortunately, bacterial infections suffered during life affect the condition of joints, heart and blood vessels.
— A young man (if he has no congenital pathologies) is a blank slate for various experiments. And 40-year-olds can already be likened to crystal vases that need to be protected, considering what is possible and what is not. It is not uncommon for a person's heart to stop during mass open water swims, for undiagnosed atherosclerosis of the lower extremity to make itself felt during cycling marathons, or for pulmonary embolism to occur, the doctor warns.
If the burden of accumulated health problems does not allow you to bet on extreme sports, then it is better to prove your worth in more acceptable ways. For example, to express oneself in creativity — to master a musical instrument or take up a brush.
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