Post Date December, 03 2023
Male psychopaths are the most depressed in middle age
In any way, Rob Brandenburg, 40, is a "lucky guy": he is the CEO of a metal craft company, with a beautiful wife and three children. The family has an enviable villa in the Adelaide Mountains of Australia. One day, however, he sat in his room at the Five Star Hotel and asked himself, "Why do I feel so empty?"
This is the beginning of Brandenburg's middle-aged crisis. He felt gradually estranged from his wife and seemed like a stranger at home, making no amount of money in his career would make any sense
"It doesn't seem like the life I want," he said. "It won't bring me any satisfaction. All I feel is burden and emptiness."
According to a study on mental health, male depression peaks during middle age. Compared to men in other age groups, the rate of depression among men aged 35 to 55 has increased significantly. Experts point out that this cannot be simply understood as a mental illness, but rather is closely related to the physical and psychological conditions of men of this age group. Anne Braisford, author of "The Midlife Marriage Crisis," and a psychologist, said, "Men suddenly experience a sense of panic: Oh, my God, I'm in middle age, but I haven't done everything I want to do yet. They ask themselves, 'Is life passing, do I still have time?' The thought makes them panic."
When men in the middle age crisis experience depression, it can have a series of negative consequences: to relieve boredom, they may squander their pensions, return late as they did when they were young, start flirting with girls who are only half their age, and even embark on the path of abandoning their family.
Crisis symptoms are more closely related to work
A joint study by the UK and the US has shown that a person's lifetime happiness presents a U-shaped curve, with the happiest in youth and old age, while in middle age, it falls to a low point, with the "bottom" around the age of 44. In other words, in the early and late stages of a person's life, they generally feel good, but the middle process is fraught with difficulties and dangers. Around the age of 44, it is the time to feel the worst. This "test" typically lasts for several years, known as a midlife crisis. In addition, the time of the trough is different for men and women. According to the situation of interviewees from the United States and Britain, the middle-aged crisis generally occurs in women's 40s, while men reach the age of 50.
At the same time, marriage is also at a low ebb during middle age, especially for couples with children. Research shows that the newly married period is the happiest stage of a couple's marital life. When their children are around 12 years old, their marital happiness gradually decreases, and after their children become independent, their happiness gradually rises again. Marriage happiness in old age can even surpass honeymoon.
How are the causes and consequences of middle-aged crises different between men and women? Braisford said that male middle-aged crisis symptoms are more closely associated with work than women. In other words, if a man feels that his work is meaningless, it can quickly affect other aspects of his life.
Women are more likely to receive care and support during menopause. In fact, middle age is a time when many young girls break away from the shackles of their families and meet more challenges. While men in this period have fallen back from their original "superman" dream to reality, the symptoms of midlife crisis can be exacerbated by some changes, such as the death of relatives, changing jobs, unemployment, and marital failure. "If you smoke and drink too much when you're young, middle age is also a time when men are prone to develop illnesses.".
