And I thought it was just me! Among other media, The New York times published an article today summarizing a paper by researchers at the University of Warwick and Dartmouth College in the US. According to Warwick's press release scientists"have found an extraordinarily consistent international pattern in depression and happiness levels that leaves us most miserable in middle age.
Their paper entitled "Is Well-being U-Shaped over the Life Cycle?" is to be published shortly in Social Science & Medicine, the world’s most-cited social science journal. The researchers found happiness levels followed a U shaped curve, with happiness higher towards the start and end of our lives and leaving us most miserable in middle age. Many previous studies of the life-course had suggested that psychological well-being stayed relatively flat and consistent as we aged.
Using a sample of 1 million people from the UK, the researchers discovered that for both men and women the probability of depression peaks around 44 years of age. In the US they found a significant difference between men and women with unhappiness reaching a peak at around 40 years of age for women and 50 years of age for men.
They found the same U-shape in happiness levels and life satisfaction by age for 72 countries"
44 was the worst year of my life. It's comforting to know that I'm not alone. My life, or my attitude towards life, has greatly improved since. The great news is that instead of experiencing ups & downs eternally, I might actually feel better & better about it! Yay!
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