Mid-life Crisis...mostly ego?

From My So-Called Mid-Life Crisis by Emuna Braverman:

When it hits a man in southern California, he buys a Corvette and moves to a condo at the beach. When it hits a woman, she leaves her family (at least partially) to take creative writing classes at UCLA or to produce artistic masterpieces at a newly renovated loft downtown. But what happens when it hits a happily married woman with no creative aspirations? How does she cope with mid-life crisis?

No matter how much you thought it was only for "others," no matter how much you thumbed your nose at them, it could hit you too. Sometime in your 40s (more or less) you may wake up and say, "Who am I?" and "Where am I going?" You may experience mild depression, an emptiness inside. You want to run away - but where?

The questions flash before you: "Did I accomplish what I set out to do when I was 25? Am I glad about that? If not, why not? Do I have inspiring yet realistic goals to get me through the next 40 years (please God)? Should I just take Prozac?"

Underlying it all is the ultimate issue, the issue no one wants to confront - death. Your own mortality stares you in the face. Gone is the feeling of invincibility of younger years. It seems that every week a friend of mine loses a parent. It seems that every week I hear more news of disease and accident - and death. The world closes in and terror awakens.

I'm not suggesting we shouldn't introspect. I'm not suggesting we shouldn't find meaningful work. I'm suggesting that there's a perverse pleasure in the agony of mid-life crisis, in wallowing in the angst. And I'm suggesting it's mostly ego.

I think when you begin to act, when you reach out and care, you find the solutions better, you feel more energized. Otherwise you spin around and around on tip of your ego. And it's dizzying and confusing and you tend to make choices that take you out of reality. (I was tempted for awhile to just throw in the towel and hole up in a hotel for a few days with some good movies!)

Be sure to go to the source for the entire article.

The author's large family, its dependence on her, and religous views are helping her through her mid-life crisis, which is mild enough that she can call it "so-called". Not everyone is so fortunate. Whether it is mostly ego or not, the crisis is real and dangerous for the mental health of the sufferer and the people who love them.