BellaOnline Forums Family Midlife Do You Feel Middle Aged?

If we assume people live to age 90 (which would be a very high estimate) then midlife would be ages 30-60. However I don't think most people in their 30s and 40s feel like they're mid-life. They still think they're adults, and barely that

When I think of myself, I think I'm an "adult" and that's it. I'm 42. So I don't think I'm old, nor do I think I'm young.

What other term could be used for this period?

I am an Inbetweeny.

I am 53, I am not old, but I am not young. I am in~between!

I smile when I tell people that I'm old, but I'm starting to feel the chill wind of old age whipping by me.

The kids at school don't want to believe that I'm 60. When I first looked at myself on skype, it was too easy to believe.

I find it sort of interesting that I think of myself as "normal adult." I think of kids as not-yet-adults. I think of seniors as their own category. I suppose the 20-somethings I would call "young adult".

How about Prime of Life? But then that implies that the other ages aren't prime, which isn't true. Every age is prime for some aspect.

I say I'm a third through life.
I had great grandparents who lived a long time and grandparents - on both sides- who are turning 97 this year. That doesn't seem old to me.
So, when people say - mid-life; I don't know what they're talking about.

That's a key part of it Lisa - how do we know when our end will be? So how do we know when the middle is?

People used to be middle aged, now they are "boomers"-lol

Cheer up everyone, The gerontologists have recently amnnounced that the human body is capable of living to at least 120 years, without becoming decrepit. No canes, no wheelchairs, no medication. Their secret is eat plain organically grown food, not processsed food, fruit only for your sugar intake. Be moderate with liquor, sleep sound at least 7 hours, don't worry instead make up your mind to do something about a problem, don't smoke, watch funny movies on TV to laugh alot, and if you do look at the news, find a station with upbeat news to share. You will keep your immune system much stronger and live lot longer. Oh by the way, they also say middle age starts at 70. Hooray!!!

LOL, age is a number that you determine.

At age 53, I have learn't to ENJOY each day from my 58 year old boyfriend.

Too many years were wasted thinking too much into the future, and yes, we do need to plan to a certain extent - but tomorrow is not promised.

I see so many over 80 folks, finding love and living - that is what I want as I age. Gone are the days of folks sitting around in a rocking chair - now they are doing more than we are at a younger age(lol).

Love the posts - Merry Xmas Bella Family!

I don't think of myself as old. I think of myself as a mature adult.

Sundancer
Embroidery Fashions Boutique

I like that way of thinking Sundancer

And I love being mature = all those years of being immature are behind me at age 53, and now I can RELAX more and ENJOY life!

Hugs,
A

If the average life expectancy in the us is (cdc) 77.9 years you would be considered middle age at about 38.

I'm not a statistic on a government chart...

There has to be an invisible sun <son> who gives his heat to everyone !

-- The Police <Sting>

"What other term could be used for this period?"

Having been a child, a teenager, a parent of two,a son and a daughter, a grandparent helping to raise a grandson, I would give myself the label of a "Survivor".

Therefore, I am now in a stage of growing ever more spiritual and at peace -- and this is the stage of life.

i m 35 and i feel i did more than half causeif turn 70i won t be able to do what ido now. but thisonly works in relation to death,otherwiseidagree with you phyllis being more spiritually arousedhahaha!

I have never felt young. When I was a child everyone always told me I was 'an old soul' . Now that I am old(er), I would like to be 'childlike' and learn how to have fun. I think I missed out on a lot. but I guess if we went by actual age, then at 45, I am middle age.

lpb i felt i was born old and i understoodwhy in the end,themore my life advances the more childlike i become.ifelt i missed out on a lot but thenilearned alot and can be childlike without parents now.people tell me i am child because of what i do or how i live but then i guess it is the secret.child doesn t mean being irresponsible.but illnever be a man or stuff like that i can t and it s not real.

gemineye, I am glad you learned the secret. I don't want to be irresponsible I just want to know how to have fun in life. It is hard if you have never done it. But maybe there is hope for me yet.

the secret is just to be yourself lpb,that s how you have fun by being you,everytimei mnot meimdepressed or everytimei am in a situation where i can t ori mnot supposed to.put your burdens down

Childish is being irresponsible to the norms society expects of you at any given age.

Childlike is the awe of it all -- the wonder and sheer beauty of being alive !

My Dad was 87 before he passed, and Connie and I enjoyed every moment of every-day with him and had a lot of fun too because we all felt inside like we were 17 inside but had the anguish of trying to be accepted in a sick society burned away from us.

Awe and wonder of creation and even of your own body and mind, the ability to breathe and move and reason is the beginning of having fun !!

I have kitty cats and I enjoy them because they are totally comfortable in their own skin.

We have so many rules and regulations of what is or is not acceptable and we're so concerned with offending others that we have a hard time honestly being our-selfs.

Being childlike is perpetual awe of beauty within and without.

Of understanding that you are an eternal being right here and right now.

And that You will go on.

The body is just a pair of clothes we wear for the reason of experiencing life in physical form.

We are kind of like on training wheels in a schoolroom.

There are those who have graduated with an identity intact and are vibrating at a higher frequency out of the range of physical sight.

If you have ever looked at an electromagnetic spectrum, you will see that visible light is just a tiny fraction of the different wavelengths out there and within.

We are multidimensional beings operating at various states and dimensions and octaves at the same time.

Begin to explore inner space.

It is vast.

Life is continually evolving toward spiritual perfection.

The physical will never be perfected so why even bother.

Society labels the outer human animal -- you're tall, you're short, you're ugly, you're rich, you're poor, you're handsome, you're fat... on and on and on... that is not you.

That is your outer appearance that may or may not last three score and ten.

You are God experiencing himself or herself in physical form to learn lessons of energy control and mastering your mind and emotions.

After you graduate, your teachers and mentors are even more childlike than you are right now.

Childlike is the wave of the future and no way shall any of us enter into the secrets of the universe and eternal youth and eternal life until we trust eternal spirit to give us sometimes the hard and brutal lessons required here until we become in awe of the immensity of life rushing toward spiritual eternal perfection.

Why emulate or conform to a sick, twisted and warped society when you can enter the cathedral of your very own heart and worship the eternal spirit of infinite father and mother aborning within with childlike awe and wonder.

This is something you can do with or without a body.

Thanks Burt, it took me a few days to understand what you wrote, but I think I get it now. Gee, there is so much to learn and I am actually enjoying it!! Thanks

Great post, Burt.

I am 44 going on 45. Do I feel middle aged? No I don't. I don't really consider my age at all. I just feel like myself and that person feels younger than my physical age.

At this time in my life my focus is my spiritual healing and growth. It is a good time for me because I am finally figuring out who I am and what I was meant to be. I am more thoughtful and focused on the inner me. It is a more peaceful existence than what I have had in earlier years.

I guess I have never put myself in any age group -- I just take life one day at a time. I focus on my spiritual growth, and by doing so, I find my life is much more peaceful.

That's how I feel too, Phyllis. Peaceful is good.

I know a lot of women don't like telling their age, but I never minded telling mine because it is just a number and it means nothing to me. I am confident enough in who I am that other people's perceptions of me do not matter. And I don't feel I ought to hang around with a certain age group of people either just because I am the age I am. I get along fine with just about everyone.

That is a great way of looking at life, Cassie.

Age has never bothered me. I have friends of all ages and it is their personality I relate to.

Hi Francine. Life is interesting for sure. Having friends of old age, middle age, and younger keeps one aware of and involved in the many different outlooks and issues in life.

One of my best friends is a young man who is just 30. I have some friends who are in their 70's and older and they are so up to date as to what is happening in the world -- It is a joy to know them.

So - did anyone figure out what is considered middle age? If it is in the late 40's, I have been there and done that.

I just turned 50 last November, and I'm having a blast !

Finally

All that BS about trying to figure out and fit into various groups is all behind me !!

I feel 17 yrs old inside, with the awe and amazement of an 8 yr old !!

Pretty !! !!!

That is great, Burt. Did I tell you Happy Birthday? If not, all the best to you!

Oh Yeah you gave me a Happy B-Day

Good! Well...Happy Wednesday then.

Oh my goodness....middle aged was something our parents were. It sounds so old, yet, I am middle aged now (soon to be 46). I don't feel any different than I did in my 20s, yet I notice I am not as able to do the things I did back then.

I am 44 today but i don't feel like there are things I cannot do. That makes me glad.

I find myself thinking of myself as a young person all the time and have to remind me that I am not.

You determine how old you feel as my grandmother lived until she was a few months shy of 104. She was a very independent lady and an inspiration to me age 54.

Staying active mentally and physically is what kept her going. Also taking care of her health.

Your age is just a number...

I personally never contemplated getting older until one morning I woke up and noticed my hour glass shape had changed time zones. At first that stranger in the mirror bothered me but as I allowed myself to absorb what was happening a calm began to take place and I came to terms with it. I think aging is difficult for every woman no matter how she denies it. Face it, none of us want to work harder to fit into clothes, or dye our hair every 3 weeks because we start to glow in the dark. Aging however is a fact of life and how we deal with it is as important a factor as any. Continue to take pride in who you are and love yourself.

EDIT: (new posters aren't allowed to use promotional URLs)

Very well said! It's definitely about accepting ourselves as we get older - that we are not quite going to look like we did when we were younger. Hard to accept for some of us, but it's a necessary.

I am 49 now and I still don't think of myself as middle aged. But I clearly am in that rung of life. I think it's the word that to me has a connotation of "past the prime" which I don't feel. I just can't think of any other term which is good. Hmmm. Even with "not old not young" I doubt I'll feel "old" in another few decades. Maybe "middle-wisdom". Hmmm. I could go with that :).

I've moved onto the other side of 50. Interestingly I'm still not feeling 'middle aged' - I just feel like me. A normal, natural me. I don't mind my age, I'm happy at where I have gotten and what I still want to get done. Life is a journey :).