Tuesday 29 January 2008

Happiness is 45

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/jan/29/health.medicalresearch

People are most likely to become depressed in middle age, according to a worldwide study of happiness. The team of economists leading the work found that we are happiest towards the beginning and end of our lives, leaving us most miserable in middle years between 40 and 50.

If someone had asked me at what age I was at my most depressed I would have probably chosen 25, because to me the fun was over, I had qualified as a teacher and I realised that this was IT that life was a mundane struggle, a small flat, a large mortgage, a lot of planning for work , a lot of travelling to work and then not one but two critical illnesses both within 3 months of each other. By the age of 29 I was divorced and felt better and then became a mother, I did not look back. Not one year since has been easy, but then how do you quantify easy? I have it very easy compared to most other cultures and I believe stress sharpens the brain. It is no coincidence that many people become Ill once they retire, because we need the drive to keep us going and I know this is what my mother fears and why she is still working at 65. However her body is tired and she will finally call it a day this year but I know she fears the quiet days, but I suspect it will come easier than she thinks. So I am 45, half way through the so called misery years, but I don't agree. I feel more empowered than I did when I was 25, I feel in control of the way I look, the way I work. I have finally accepted that I will have to work until retirement because I believe I will live to a ripe old age, and so I want/need a good sized pension to live off, which means I finally get to enjoy painting in that "Room of my own." So for me happiness is middle age.

1 comment:

materfamilias said...

I, too, am finding these middle ages (I'm ten years older than you) very satisfying and am looking forward to more of the same. My children are grown, I find my work interesting and challenging, and I know what I like well enough not to waste too much time on what I don't.