Midlife slump finds people in their 40s down in the dumps

USA Today: Midlife slump finds people in their 40s down in the dumps

Middle age makes you miserable, so don't blame your job, your kids, your spouse, your income or lack of it, suggests an international study of 2 million people from 80 nations released today.

Researchers from Great Britain and the USA analyzed data spanning more than 35 years on measures such as depression, anxiety, mental well-being, happiness and life satisfaction.

They found that men and women in their 40s were more likely to be depressed and weren't as happy as other ages. Middle age is such a low point for well-being that it's at the bottom of a U-shaped curve that indicates greater happiness among the young and old.  ...

Comments

[Rob]

Man, this entry is depressing. Good to know that I'll feel better in 2 years, though.

[Michael W. Kruse]

I saw a news report on the tube today that showed a graph with 44.5 being the low point (although they said that for some reason in the US it comes about four years earlier for women.)

Forty-four was about the worst year of my life. I sure hope I'm on the upswing. Like you, I've got a couple of years before hitting the upward trajectory past fifty.

[Lingamish]

So I've got a depressing decade ahead... oh, man, this might require radical intervention.