Jan 30, 2008 7:41 am US/Central
In The Know: Get Don Out Of This Rut
(WCCO)
If you are middle-aged, we have
some bad news for you. You are likely a bit depressed. Researchers in England
and the United States
have found middle age can be miserable. Don Shelby said, that explains a lot.
The study
shows that happiness follows a "U" curve. In our youth, we are wonderfully happy -- the
top of the "U". As time passes
and we reach middle age, our happiness dips dramatically, and if we live
through it and grow old and stay in good health, we return to the happiness of
our youth, right at the top.
Turns out,
the worst part of our lives is in our 40s. One researcher postulated folks in
middle age begin to think they won't accomplish as much as they'd once
hoped.
It happens
to men and women, single and married, rich and poor and people with or without
children. The study gave me a thought,
so I looked up the median voter's age in the U.S. It is 44, smack dab in the middle of the low
point of our happiness.
Now, I
know why all the presidential candidates, Democrats and Republicans, are saying
they are the agent of change. That's
what middle age people apparently want.
Please, for the love of Pete, somebody -- anybody, get me out of this
rut.
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