5 Steps for Dealing with a Midlife Crisis

Welcome to my mid-life crisis.

For the last six months, I’ve been in the throes of a major midlife crisis, but in the last month, the fog of depression and self-deprecation has started to lift. It’s still a battle, but at least I don’t wake up every day feeling like my life has ended now that I’ve hit my mid-forties. When I do feel myself slipping backwards though, I follow these steps:

1. Admit you are having a midlife crisis! The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? Quit thinking it’s just a little funk that will pass, or that you are having a few bad days in a row. Realize that you’re halfway or more through your life and that you have not where you thought you would be. Admit that all the confidence and cockiness as a twenty- and thirty-something has completely disappeared.
2. Give yourself time to wallow in self-pity. It’s Ok to feel bad for a while and binge watch Netflix while you moan to yourself that if you didn’t accomplish your life goals by now, you probably never will! That book will never get published, that dream vacation will never happen, the addition to the house will never be affordable, and retiring anytime before the age of 85 will never be a reality. Go ahead and cry about it while watching strong female characters on the shows you binge watch prove that they can do anything and have everything — unlike you.