你是否已經提前進入"中年危機"

Elizabeth has had enough of life as a City lawyer. Now, in her mid-thirties, she has decided to change careers. “Life is short,” she says, wincing at the cliché.
伊麗莎白(Elizabeth)受夠了在倫敦金融城當律師的工作，年屆35歲的她決定轉行。爲此她頗爲感慨地說了一句老掉牙的話：“人生短暫！”

As the first person in her family to make it to university, Elizabeth – who does not want to use her real name – had felt obliged to follow through with a sensible profession. Her twenties were consumed by office all-nighters, finding her way and proving herself. When she hit her thirties, while the hours continued to be punishing, she felt able to lift her nose from the grindstone and evaluate her career. “I am not as engaged in my work as my peers,” she reflects. To make partner she would have to crank up her commitment – and she just cannot bear to do that. So in her spare time she studies psychology, in anticipation of switching professional tracks.
作爲家裏第一個上大學的孩子，伊麗莎白（她不希望用自己的真名）感到有必要從事一份“現實”的職業。在20歲到30歲這段時期，她經常加夜班，兢兢業業地工作，努力證明自己的能力。步入而立之年後，雖然工作依然忙碌，但她覺得可以緩一口氣，評估一下自己的職業。她若有所思地說道：“我不像其他同事那樣投入工作了。”如果她想成爲合夥人，就要更加拼命，而她就是受不了這麼拼命。因此她在閒暇時間學習心理學，期待有朝一日能夠轉行。

She admits to feelings that border on depression but views them as a “productive indication” that she no longer wants to be a lawyer and desires a job with “more meaning”. A “midlife crisis” is how she views it.
她承認自己瀕臨抑鬱，但認爲這樣的情緒是“有益的暗示”，表明自己不想再當律師了，而是想要一份“更有意義”的工作。她認爲這是一種“中年危機”。

“Midlife crisis” is not a clinical disorder. However, Dr Michael Sinclair, a consultant psychologist based in the City, has observed increasing numbers of thirtysomethings experiencing profound anxiety about their career choices and lives. “These are problems more commonly associated with people in their mid-forties thinking about mortality. They are coming out of recession, a period of being single-minded. They are burnt out and asking ‘what’s the point of work?’”
“中年危機”並非一種臨牀上的疾病。然而，在倫敦金融城工作的諮詢心理學家邁克爾•辛克萊博士(Dr Michael Sinclair)發現，在30多歲這個羣體中，越來越多的人對自己的職業選擇和生活深感焦慮。“這些問題在45歲左右的人身上更爲常見，這個年齡的人會思考人必有一死這樣的問題。人們剛剛經歷了經濟衰退——那是一個必須老老實實工作的時期。現在他們感到疲倦不堪，自問‘工作的意義是什麼？’”

Louise Matthews, a work and lifestyle blogger and former personal assistant in recruitment and insurance, believes that the “midlife crisis is beginning earlier these days”. She suggests it could be “because we have too much choice and information coming”, which can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction but also paralysis. “It can be pretty overwhelming.”
經常寫有關工作與生活的博客、曾在招聘和保險行當做過個人助理的路易斯•馬修斯(Louise Matthews)認爲，“如今中年危機開始得更早了”。她表示，這可能是“因爲我們有太多的選擇和信息”，從而導致不滿足感，但同時也讓人麻木。“它可能會把人壓垮。”

The notion of a midlife crisis, is contentious. Coined in 1965 by Elliot Jaques, a psychologist, he described it as “the adult encounter with the conception of life to be lived in the setting of an approaching personal death”. In popular mythology it is generally characterised by fortysomething men swapping families and jobs for sports cars, hair plugs and young girlfriends – all rather silly.
“中年危機”的概念存在爭議。心理學家埃利奧特•雅克(Elliot Jaques)在1965年發明了這個詞，他將其描述爲“成年人遇到了人生的概念，人生就是個體在不斷接近的死亡到來前度過的那段時間”。按照流行的觀念，它通常的特徵是四十多歲的人不惜犧牲家庭和工作來換取跑車、植髮和年輕女友——都是相當愚蠢的事。

However, research published earlier this year found an average midlife dip in happiness – or subjective wellbeing as it is described by economists – happened between 40 and 42. Professor Nattavudh Powdthavee, co-author of the longitudinal research across three countries, says this confirms previous studies that show a hill-shape relationship between age and the use of antidepressants. It builds on research, published in 2012, that found chimpanzees and orang-utans also experience a U-shape in happiness (as reported by zookeepers rather than the apes themselves). Prof Powdthavee says this suggests there could be biological explanations behind the midlife nadir. He sees this as a reason to be optimistic. “When you know this, you can go through the period thinking at some point it will get better.”
然而，今年早些時候發表的研究結果顯示，中年人幸福感——或者說是經濟學家所稱的“主觀幸福感”(subjective well-being)——下降一般發生在40歲到42歲之間。納塔武•鮑德塔威(Nattavudh Powdthavee)表示，這證實了以前的研究結果，即年齡與抗抑鬱藥的使用存在“山型曲線”的關係。鮑德塔威與人合作在3個國家開展了這項縱向研究，該研究基於2012年發表的一項研究結果，即黑猩猩和猩猩的幸福感也經歷了U型曲線（這是由動物管理員而不是猩猩自己報告的）。鮑德塔威表示，這表明中年低谷背後可能有生物學上的原因。他認爲這個發現給了人們樂觀的理由。“當你知道這一點的時候，你就可以想，總有一天會好起來的，從而安然度過這一時期。”

Mid-life crises can manifest themselves in different ways. “It is a transitionary phase,” says Dr Derek Milne, a psychologist from Newcastle University and author of Coping With a Mid-Life Crisis. “It can be intermittent or express itself as vague disquiet.”
中年危機可能有不同的表現形式。英國紐卡斯爾大學(Newcastle University)的心理學家德里克•米爾恩博士(Dr Derek Milne)表示：“這是一個過渡階段。它可能是間歇性的，或者表現爲隱約的心神不寧。”米爾恩博士著有《如何應對中年危機》(Coping With a Mid-Life Crisis)一書。

Dr Hannes Schwandt of Princeton University believes midlife, unlike infancy and old age, is under-researched. Last year, he published research focused on “unmet expectations”. It found the young are optimistic – perhaps even “over-optimistic” – while those in their forties and fifties feel regret, before making their peace in older age. “Perhaps people in middle age can learn from the elderly who feel less regret and have adapted,” he suggests.
普林斯頓大學(Princeton University)的漢內斯•施萬特博士(Dr Hannes Schwandt)認爲，與針對兒童和老年人的研究不同，有關中年的研究明顯不足。去年他發表了關於“未實現的期望”的研究報告。該報告發現，年輕人很樂觀——甚至是“過度樂觀”——而四五十歲的人總是抱有遺憾，然後再老一些纔會內心平和。他表示：“或許中年人可以向那些不再懷有強烈遺憾心理、已經適應現實的老年人學習。”

The fallout from midlife malaise might make people less productive, notes Dr Schwandt. Employers might therefore want to take note. “It could improve peoples’ wellbeing if we acknowledged the problem,” he says.
施萬特博士指出，中年危機的影響可能導致人們的勞動效率下降。爲此僱主可能會重視這個問題。他說：“如果我們承認這個問題，就有可能提高人們的幸福感。”Jodie Rogers, a careers coach, says work is a source of crisis for her middle-aged clients. “They ask themselves what legacy they are leaving behind. They start to feel bad about feeling discontented. They have a job and pay cheque, they don’t know if they have the right to seek more. There is a real tug of war between the feeling they should be satisfied with their life and wanting to do something more meaningful.”
職業指導顧問喬迪•羅傑斯(Jodie Rogers)表示，對她的那些中年客戶來說，工作是一個危機感的源頭。“他們問自己能給後世留下什麼。這種不滿足感開始讓他們感到不安。他們有工作，有薪水，但不知道是否有權尋求更多。他們左右爲難，不知道是應該安於現狀，還是應該做一些更有意義的事情。”

Paul Dolan, professor of behavioural science at the London School of Economics, and author of Happiness by Design, believes we need a mix of purpose and pleasure in order to feel truly happy. In a forthcoming paper, he argues that much of the economic literature on midlife crises focuses on our evaluations of what makes us happy rather than our actual experiences. In other words, the stories we tell ourselves about what makes us happy – that a prestigious job is good – even if our day-to-day experience of the work makes us miserable.
倫敦政治經濟學院(LSE)的行爲科學教授保羅•多蘭(Paul Dolan)著有《設計幸福》(Happiness by Design)一書，他認爲，要真正感到幸福，我們既要懷着目標，也要保持心情愉悅。他在一篇即將發表的論文中提出，許多關於中年危機的經濟學文獻聚焦於我們自認爲的幸福理由，而不是我們實際的體驗。比如說，我們告訴自己，體面的工作讓我們感到幸福，即便實際上我們的日常工作讓我們感到痛苦。

Other experts, however, dismiss any connection between age and crisis. Susan Krauss Whitbourne, professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, sees age as a “social construct, highly dependent on the individual”. The attraction of seeing midlife as a period prone to crisis, she says is akin to horoscopes: “It gives you certainty. It gives an excuse and an expectation.”
然而，有些專家對年齡和危機存在聯繫的說法不以爲然。馬薩諸塞大學阿默斯特分校(University of Massachusetts Amherst)的蘇珊•克勞斯•惠特伯恩(Susan Krauss Whitbourne)教授認爲，年齡是一種“社會建構，在很大程度上取決於個人”。她表示，認爲中年容易出現危機的說法具有像星座學說一樣的吸引力：“它帶給你確定感，提供一種藉口，一種預期。”

She does, however, think that today, more people want to express their true sense of self in their job.
然而，惠特伯恩也認爲，如今更多的人希望在工作中展現對自我的真實感知。

Elizabeth agrees – she says her parents are baffled by her career dissatisfaction: “They say it is a luxury of my generation. They never thought of enjoying their careers – they just got on with it.”
伊麗莎白對此表示贊同，她說，父母不理解自己爲何對職業感到不滿：“他們說，職業滿足感是我們這代人的奢侈品。他們從未想過在職業上獲得享受，他們只是按部就班地工作。”

Many people, says Prof Whitbourne, fantasise about dramatically quitting their jobs. But, she says, “it is better to make baby steps towards a change”.
惠特伯恩表示，許多人幻想着突然辭職。但她表示，“一點一點地做出改變會更好”。

Dr Sinclair agrees: “People can be too goal-focused. They have ticked off making money and career goals, and wonder what next?” He helps them to understand life is not about ticking off their goals but living by their values. Rather than resign, they may find that making small changes in their jobs, for example collaborating with colleagues or mentoring a junior employee, can make work feel more meaningful.
辛克萊對此表示贊同：“人們可能過於看重目標，在完成賺錢和職業方面的目標後，他們不知道下一個目標是什麼？”辛克萊幫助人們明白，人生的意義不在於完成一堆目標，而是要活出價值來。與其辭職，還不如在工作中做出小改變，比如與同事合作或者指導初級員工，這可能讓人覺得工作更有意義。