dagblog - Comments for "Premature Mid-life Crisis"

I have to say, now that I'm

CaliforniaPaige — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:25:46 +0000

In reply to This is depressing. We are

I have to say, now that I'm "over 30" by a couple of days... So far, it's a huge relief.

This is depressing. We are

AM — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 23:49:30 +0000

This is depressing. We are under the constant burden of freedom and opportunity. My parents always taught me "you can be anything you want to be." That is difficult both in the ways it is true and the ways it is not true. There are limitations... there are things that would not be possible or very difficult for me to be. But mostly it is true that with so many options each choice is a source of stress. I lifted that stress by going on vacation and noticing that my choices didn't really matter all that much, but soon it is back to the real world. I believe I experienced my first mid life crisis at 25 which was the first time I noticed I wouild eventually be 30. I'm hoping now that I am adjusting to the "over 30" status that the feeling of impending doom will lift at least until I'm 35. (-AM)

There's even a lexicon for

CaliforniaPaige — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 18:44:32 +0000

In reply to Premature Mid-life Crisis

There's even a lexicon for all these newer, younger crises: "quarter-life crisis" is the right after college when we're all wondering what to with ourselves and how to manage our lives without academic structure; "Saturn Returns" is the about-to-turn-thirty period, known for "what have I done with my life?" and "I'm so old." I don't know the name for the turning-35 crisis yet, or for the turning-40 one. But I'm sure by the time I get there, those'll have names too.

I'm not sure it follows that living a longer life equates to having more time. Higher expectations, maybe; but on a daily basis, aren't we busier than our ancestors were? More fragmented, for sure. Too much information available, too many places to go, too many goals to accomplish....

And blogging

Michael Wolraich — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:11:15 +0000

In reply to great post. funny,

And blogging

great post. funny,

Deadman — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 05:27:24 +0000

In reply to Premature Mid-life Crisis

great post. funny, insightful, and sadly still very, if not more, relevant today.

I don't have acutal stats to support this statement, but it seems to me that the rates of mental illness and depression have increased dramatically over the past 50 years. If i were to take a guess, i would attribute that to these factors, in increasing order of importance: a) environmental changes b) social acceptance of the disease (making reporting it more likely) and c) having way too much fucking time on our hands.

Back in the day, mothers and fathers spent their entire existence worried about making a living and putting food on the table. Now we have all this free time, so we search for meaning and purpose in our lives, a pretty futile task given the State of the Universe unless you're a True Believer. The only really sane option for the rest of us is 'watching superhuman quantities of bad television' ... TiVo as the Perfect Therapist!