A person can laugh at the notorious “midlife crisis”, consider it the lot of weaklings or an invention of psychologists, but only until he wakes up one morning irritated, with a heaviness in his chest and an incomprehensible melancholy. And he won’t deal with this feeling for several months, until he finally realizes that he’s been “covered.” When? Why? And it can “cover” at 37, 46, and even 50 years old, both men and women. The crisis usually lasts for more than one year and can drag on for an entire decade. Everything is individual. “This crisis in the scientific literature is also called a mid-life crisis,” comments psychologist Andrei Belousov. − It is directly related to the attitude towards one’s life, when a person thinks: “Is everything that surrounds me (family, work, friends) what I wanted? What am I living for? What will be left after me? However, most people do not voice these questions, but simply unconsciously rush around in search of prolongation of life, new experiences, material pleasures. But the fact is that any intrapersonal crisis in a person is associated with a change in the value system and worldview. The onset of a crisis in a person shows that his established ideas and lifestyle do not correspond to new realities, that he has lingered at the previous stage of life and continues to exploit old developments. How to recognize Signs of a “midlife crisis” are a feeling of dissatisfaction, emptiness, and depression. There is a feeling that a person is not living his own life, he wants something unknown, since work is perceived as routine, marital relationships have lost their former sensuality and passion, children have grown up and prefer to live their own lives. The circle of friendly communication has narrowed over the years, and it itself has acquired a tinge of monotony. The person feels like he or she is trapped in a career or marriage. The stability, material and family well-being achieved by this age suddenly lose their significance. In addition, age-related changes in appearance (wrinkles, gray hair, bags under the eyes, folds on the neck and body) leave their mark on the woman. Hormonal changes occur in the body (fat tissue grows, muscle mass decreases, menopause occurs). Relationships in the family also become strained - children create their own families, old conflicts are renewed. Men begin to fear for their potency - physiological, labor or creative. The fear of losing life “creeps up”, so the man tries to feel young again, hence the proverbs like “Gray hair in the beard - a devil in the rib.” There is also a hormonal change (a decrease in the production of the male hormone). “A midlife crisis can lead male and female representatives to new successes and achievements, career growth, a return to faith, and full self-realization,” continues the specialist. − Sometimes – to a constant change of sexual partners, to divorce, alcoholism, joining sects and spiritual quests. And sometimes it passes almost unnoticed, resulting in the construction of a summer house or the purchase of a new car. How to survive An important role in this situation is played by the person’s understanding that he is experiencing a crisis phenomenon and acceptance of it, the attitude of those close to him and sometimes the help of a specialist - a psychologist. The most effective way out From a crisis, a person can become aware of what he lives for: he needs to see his task and mission, evaluate the years he has lived. It is important to conduct a kind of life audit, because if you push this problem aside, then at the end of life you may be faced with the most terrible crisis prepared for a person - the crisis of the end of life. Think about why some old people are smiling, wise, kind, while others are angry, critical, hating everything and everyone? The fact is that the former have accepted their lives, while the latter have not. According to the psychologist, it won’t hurt to engage in body health (physical education, sports). In the professional sphere, you can engage in training students and work for the benefit of society. Learn to take on new roles in family relationships.