IN A CRISIS

You may experience feeling lost and like a failure when going through a midlife crisis. But there are things you can do to get through this difficult time

WINTER is coming. The days are getting shorter (and darker thanks, Eskom!), the cost of living is punishing and petrol prices just keep going up. No wonder many of us are feeling a bit... meh.

It's certainly a time of year many of us go into self-reflection. But if you're 40-plus and you find yourself constantly wondering whether your life is on track and "is this really all there is?!" you may be on the brink of a midlife crisis.

In her new book, The Midlife Crisis Handbook, psychologist Dr Julie Hannan offers a guide for handling this period of your life meaningfully, providing tools and tips to cope with the confusion, conflict and fear you may be feeling.

So how do you know if you're having a midlife crisis and what can you do about it? In this extract she offers sensible and sensitive advice that can help you navigate this challenging time.

BETWEEN the ages of 40 and 60, people become increasingly aware of the limitations of the second half of their life. They may develop a sense of time running out and of bodily decline, as well as mourning the loss of youthful adventures and creative ideas as it becomes increasingly challenging to hang on to their sense of self.

Many people can feel a sense of malaise, hopelessness, entrapment, dissatisfaction and disappointment. There may be a sense that, if you could just change the one beyond Feeling c to run aw Underac Feeling unfulfilled "How d here? thing that's holding you back, then all would be well. The trouble is you can't work out what the thing is. Even if you could put your finger on it, you're not really sure how it needs to change anyway.

Yet a midlife crisis is more than all of the above: it's a crisis related to our identity and about understanding ourselves at our very core.