Midlife crisis - what is it? Why guys in their 40's buy sports cars and get divorced?

The midlife crisis is a myth—sort of Many believe that men go through a midlife crisis when they are in middle age. Not quite. Many middle-aged men do go through midlife crises, but it's not because they are middle-aged.It's because their wives are.

From the evolutionary psychological perspective, a man's midlife crisis is precipitated by his wife's imminent menopause and end of her reproductive career, and thus his renewed need to attract younger women. Accordingly, a 50-year-old man married to a 25-year-old woman would not go through a midlife crisis, while a 25-year-old man married to a 50-year-old woman would, just like a more typical 50-year-old man married to a 50-year-old woman.It's not his midlife that matters; it's hers. When he buys a shiny-red sports car, he's not trying to regain his youth; he's trying to attract young women to replace his menopausal wife by trumpeting his flash and cash.

psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?t....

I agree with WilliamWaco! You are so busy getting your career set, your retirement set, your children into good colleges and than you look around say WOW...I am set now what do I want? Sadly, sometimes its a new wife.

Or a new car, house and life. I do think that it is tied with a lackluster sex life ( possibly due to menopause), or just familiarity. Men I think need to feel like they take care of someone, maybe their wife doesn't 'need' him anymore in his opinion, going for a younger one will make him feel like he is needed and encourages his desire to protect, hunt and gather for her.

Here's another idea: I did that starting at about 38. It was not because of any psychological gobbledy gook. It was because all those things, I wanted so badly when I was 19 but couldn't afford, I could finally afford to buy when I was 38.

I don't see that a crisis, I see it as deferred gratification.

Midlife crisis is not necessarily about buying a sports car or getting divorced. I find that it is about realizing that you are 40+ years old, but still want to regress back to when you were in college or so. It is the feeling that you haven't quite got what you planned on getting, and since you finally have a little spare cash, you might as well get it now.

Also it is about understanding that death is right around the corner so you might as well live for the moment!

Here is an article that is nearly a decade old that states the opposite about the commonality of midlife crises.

It is an attempt to recapture their youth. Sports cars can be related to feeling young and hip again. Divorces can be related to dating and hooking up with women as though they were again in their 20's.

You say it like that's something bad. Heh! OK, the divorce thing's bad, but it's always the guy who's at fault?

Hmm, could be a stereotype of males at work there. The sports car thing is most likely a question of finally being able to afford one! For the record, I'm a happily married male in my mid-thirties.

Sports cars don't do anything for me!

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.