What We Get Wrong About Our Midlives

1A

NPR

News

4.4 • 4.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 October 2024

⏱️ 38 minutes

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Summary

When most people think of the a midlife crisis, they picture a man in his 50s dating a younger woman and buying a sports car.

But what does this depiction of midlife get wrong and who gets left behind by this narrative? What changes actually take place during our midlives and why is this period of life so under-researched despite everyone alive having decent odds of living through it?

We gather a panel of experts and sit down to break down our midlives.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey there, it's Tamara Keith. I cover the White House. I know this is hard to believe, but one day, the election will be over.
0:06.7	Then the winner gets a lot more powerful. It's my job to report on what they do with that power. That's public accountability, but it's not
0:15.0	possible without public support. So please support our work. Sign up for NPR Plus.
0:21.1	Go to Plus. npr.org.
0:24.0	Well, it happened.
0:27.0	Well, it happened.
0:31.0	Well, it happened. Just a few days ago I received an envelope in the mail from an
0:37.0	organization whose four letter name is probably familiar to you. It contained an
0:41.4	invitation to join a special club that comes with certain benefits and discounts, not a
0:47.4	social club or a new type of credit card. It was AARP, and my feelings opening that letter were, let's just call them complex.
0:57.0	The average midlife crisis, according to Hollywood, might look like a man bored with suburban life, maybe buying a sports car or
1:04.8	dating a younger woman. But the reality of what happens during middle age is much
1:09.4	more complicated. I have really enjoyed middle age up to this point. I'm 51 years old and whenever I have a friend who's approaching his or her 50th birthday, I try and send a note of encouragement to say you've got nothing to fear it's going to be great I think you're going to love it at 62 I think it's rather rude that my body like to let me know I'm old while I feel young and look younger than I am, my body reminds me that I'm not.
1:36.8	Not as flexible, not as much energy, even though I work out with strength training and
1:42.2	walking four miles a day I still have bad knees
1:45.3	a sore back and well I can just tell I'm old. I'm turning 43 in just a few days and from the time I hit 30 onward I feel like I just have it more and more together and
2:02.3	Surprised myself how little I really care about what teenage
2:07.0	or early 20 me would have thought anyway.
2:11.3	So maybe it's a little more realizing I'm comfortable in my own skin.
2:15.0	Thanks for those messages.
2:17.0	The average life expectancy in the US is 76 years,
2:21.0	which means most Americans will be middle-aged at some point.
	...

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