Midlife Crisis: When The Fog Lifts, What Happens Next
If your partner is going through a midlife crisis, you’re probably anxious for signs that they’re coming out of midlife crisis fog and getting back to a more normal life.
Coping with midlife crisis can put a massive strain on your relationship and your own life, so it’s totally normal to wonder what happens after a midlife crisis. By the way, midlife crises can look very different for men and women, so take a look at our posts about the signs of midlife crisis in a man and midlife crisis in a woman.
What happens at the end of a midlife crisis?
Often a midlife crisis has to run its own course and there isn’t a lot that you can do to speed up the process. You may be able to persuade your partner to seek professional help, perhaps from a couples counsellor or life coach, but generally you just need to let it burn itself out.
Obviously if your partner is showing signs of depression or self-harm, then you should seek expert help for them right away.
But when you do reach the final stages of midlife crisis, what can you do to help your relationship move forwards?
Can marriage survive a midlife crisis?
If the lines of communication are still open, then the single best thing you can do is to communicate with your partner. Let them know how much they are loved, how important they are to their family and friends and how much their behavior affects you all.
When they’re caught up in the middle of a crisis, they may be completely unable to see this for themselves.
But unfortunately some marriages can’t survive a midlife crisis and divorce is the next step. Couples can grow apart and sometimes the person you are with in midlife isn’t the same person that you fell in love with.
If this happens, it’s important to remember that life does go on and to view it as a chance of a new beginning. The midlife crisis may have been a symptom of your relationship ending rather than the cause.
Are there regrets after a midlife crisis?
This depends very much on what triggered the crisis and how the person experiencing the crisis reacts to it.
If a man’s crisis was caused by self-esteem issues due to getting older, he could find himself coming out of midlife crisis fog without having dealt with the core issues. Whereas a woman whose midlife crisis was related to menopause hormones combined with empty nest syndrome might now feel empowered and ready to start her new phase of life.
She might feel that the end of menstruation signals a new beginning to her life, full of new possibilities and new experiences. Coming out of a midlife crisis may give her heightened self-confidence and freedom from the societal constraints that used to hold her back.
Coming out of a midlife crisis can herald a positive change for both men and women, if they choose to see it as the start of a new stage of life.
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