By Dr. Joseph Mercola
     with Rachael Droege

The term "midlife crisis" was introduced by Elliott Jaques, a psychologist and pioneer in human development theory, in 1965. He found that around the age of 35 people begin to see their life in terms of "time left to live" as opposed to "time since birth," which is the previously held view.

But whether or not you specifically will experience a "crisis" during this time depends on a variety of factors. Certain aspects can make this time of life much more turbulent than it would otherwise be. These include:

• Being unhappy with your career

• Worries about the future

• Marital or relationship problems or stagnancy

• Taking care of elderly parents

• Feeling that you missed out on past experiences

• Deteriorating health
  

Fortunately, whether you are facing a "midlife crisis" or are looking for a new start in life for whatever reason, there are many things you can do to improve your outlook and feel great.

Reassess Your Goals

Midlife is one of the best times to reassess your goals (or make them if you haven’t yet). If you feel dissatisfied, first identify what it is that is causing the feeling. Then make a specific goal to change your dissatisfaction into satisfaction.

And be sure that when you think of goals you are not only thinking of financial ones--goals can be applied to any area of life from career to marriage to personal attitudes. Goals are an entirely personal matter, but while the process comes naturally to some it can be taxing on others. Here are a few examples of dissatisfaction and goals to change the feeling, but remember to make your goals specific to your own situation.

You may also want to try out one of the most useful books I’ve ever read in my life. It’s called "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen.

Build Personal Relationships

As we get older it’s easy to take our existing relationships for granted and not place any importance on establishing new ones. But strong relationships with a spouse, family and friends are as important now as ever.

If you are married make a point to refresh your routine and not take your spouse for granted and be sure to show affection if you expect to get any in return. This is easy to say and harder to do but it is very important as your happiness and ability to be optimally productive in your life is severely limited when you are not in a happy relationship with your spouse.

The difficulty that is often encountered when attempting to deal with these challenges is usually related to blocks in our subconscious, which sabotage our efforts to successfully implement these changes. No matter how hard we try we just can’t seem to succeed. The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is profoundly effective in helping to neutralize these emotional barriers. I realize that some people are wary of this energy psychology tool, but it can actually help you to implement positive goals and affirmations in your marriage.

And for everyone, whether you are married or not, be sure to actively seek and build new relationships with friends and even family members that you may have lost touch with. Social ties are one of the keys to a happy life and will become increasingly important as your children leave home and you have more time to focus on yourself.

Eat Nutritious Food

Many people underestimate the power food can have on emotional health. And with a midlife crisis, much of the crisis is typically emotionally based. Eating junk food is just about the worst thing you can do during this time as sugar can cause depression and a host of other health problems.

Eating other junk foods or the wrong foods for your metabolic type will imbalance you not only on a physical level but also on an emotional one. This can easily leave you feeling irritable, nervous, angry, hyper, depressed or hopeless.

Similarly, the right foods will feed your body and your mind and will leave you feeling strong, energetic, in control and emotionally sound. If you want to find out the right foods for your individual body, my new book, Dr. Mercola's Total Health Program, is designed around nutritional typing. It provides you with the ability to assess your general nutritional type and gives you a full plan to start eating the right macronutrient ratio for your type. It will also teach you how to "listen to your body," that is, it will teach you how to subtly adjust and fine-tune your macronutrient ratios so that you feel your best on a physical and emotional level.

Consider Making a Change

If you have seriously contemplated your current situation and are not happy with it from any angle, it may be time to make a change. Now, I am not suggesting that you one day pick up and leave your family behind or anything of that nature. However, you may want to discuss some new options with your spouse and family.

This could include changing careers, moving to a new area of the country, expanding your social connections and so on, depending on what you are looking for. The point to realize is that you do not have to stick with a sinking ship; it’s OK to want to change some aspects of your life. You will want to be aware of those around you, however, and be sure that the ship is actually sinking before you decide to bail out.

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