Mid-Life: What Crisis?

The many perspectives of mid-life
by Kathryn Betts Adams, Ph.D., M.S.W.

The Gift of Empathy in Mid-life

By mid-life, women have had many exhilarating, satisfying, and illuminating personal experiences. We have also had many disappointing, exhausting, unsettling, painful, or frustrating ones. Read More

What the Film "Amour" Tells Us About Aging and Caregiving

Beyond important messages about caregiving, there is another even more universal and important theme in "Amour": the later part of the cycle of life often includes declining health and strength and increasing dependence on others. It can be a messy business. Read More

Images of Mid-life and Older Women Affect Our Self Image

Evidence of "age-disavowal" is all around us. If we believe that there are only two possible stages for women: young, sexy ingenue and frail wizened gray-haired lady, we will find it harder to make a smooth transition and find a comfortable place for ourselves in the middle. Read More

Planning for "Successful Aging" at Mid-life

In our 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s we still have time to make incremental changes aimed at preparing for an old age that’s as successful as it can be. Read More

Grow Old Along With Me

In many couples, it is not even so clear who is the caregiver and who the care recipient. Partners simply do what they can for one another, providing reassurance, reminders, and daily structure. Read More

Banishing Mid-life Regret

If we regret something we didn’t do or become when we were younger, there may be a way to recast those early dreams into something feasible and meaningful in the present. Read More

Midlife Parenting: Hold on Loosely and Take a Deep Breath

Providing a touchstone for older teens and young adults takes both energy and restraint Read More

Our Own Worst Critics? Or Not

A media blowhard and a fairy tale movie show us that our values about women's aging might need a brush up Read More

Letting Ourselves Get Old?

Midlife women are understandably ambivalent about our own aging. With so many products and procedures marketed to conceal or defy aspects of our age, we may feel uncomfortable or even apologetic if we let nature take its course. Read More

Kathryn Betts Adams, Ph.D., M.S.W.

Kathryn Betts Adams, Ph.D., M.S.W., is an associate professor of social work at Case Western Reserve University. She researches mid-life.

more...

Subscribe to Mid-Life: What Crisis?

About Mid-Life: What Crisis?

This blog focuses on how we cope with mid-life, bringing in theories from gerontology, sociology and psychology to explore some of the big and little things mid-lifers (approximately 45-65 years old, in my thinking) go through. 

Current Issue

Confessions of a Sociopath

She's successful and charming as well as ruthless and calculating.