Carl Jung was the first to see the psychological and spiritual significance of midlife transition. He observed that for normal development, in the first half of life we create a life and an understanding of who we are based on what parents, other significant adults, our peers, partners and society in general expect of us. In the process we learn, from the reactions of these significant others, that parts of us are not acceptable; these parts get repressed in our unconscious as shadow. For normal development in the second half of life, we need to create a life based on who we truly are. To do this we need to complete two main developmental tasks for midlife transition: First, we need to go within and reclaim those parts of ourselves repressed when young and other parts of our self we have never known. And second, we need to reshape our lives based on this increased understanding of who we truly are.
"The experience of Self brings a feeling of standing on solid ground inside oneself, on a patch of eternity which even physical death cannot touch." Marie-Louise von Franz
Middle age is a time in which adults feel a need to reassess where they are and make changes while they feel they still have time. A person experiencing midlife symptoms may ask: Is this all there is? Am I a failure? Symptoms and behaviors during midlife crisis can range from mild to severe and may include:
• Boredom and exhaustion, or frantic energy
• Self-questioning
• Daydreaming
• Irritability, unexpected anger
• Acting out with alcohol, drug, food or other compulsions
• Greatly decreased or increased sexual desire
• Sexual affairs, especially with someone much younger
• Greatly decreased or increased ambition
"The disintegration of personality sounds much less ominous if it is understood as an opportunity for new life rather than the end of the line. Such an attitude is more than mere consolation for the person going through the experience; it can mean the difference between life and death, for it offers the possibility of meaning in what would otherwise be pointless suffering. This is especially true in the middle years of life, when many are brought to their knees either by circumstances or by ignorance of their own psychology, and often by both" Daryl Sharp
We go on a heroic journey at midlife as we struggle against ‘levelling down to collective standards'. This struggle is vital for us individually as it leads us to creating a personally meaningful second half of life.
“Individuation is a natural necessity…its prevention by a leveling down to collective standards is injurious to the vital activity of the individual…any serious check to individuality is an artificial stunting.” Jung