Is there a midlife crisis Essay Example for Free

Is there a midlife crisis Essay As a man approaches middle age a number of factors converge that tend to disrupt his previous modes of experiencing himself. For some men, this stress may culminate or be expressed in a â€Å"midlife crisis. † This crisis has been variously described as a pervasive sense of alienation from ones own being in the world, unidentified or misunderstood feelings of anxiety or depression, and/or physical symptoms expressive of psychic distress. In an attempt to bring some order to conflicting reports about the experience of people entering middle age, we reviewed the existing literature. A lack of consensus soon became apparent. Some writers argued that a midlife crisis was a universal experience in male development; others suggested that men reached their peak of self-actualization at this point. Looking at the literature more closely, we saw that the research findings seemed to depend upon which methods were used and in which culture the middle-aged population was being studied. Psychoanalysts, psychiatrists, and other writers working with clinical data often see a middle-age crisis as universal a developmental inevitability. Levinson proposes, as did Jaques and others, a developmental sequence, with a period of midlife crisis, which â€Å"exists in all societies, throughout the human species, at the present stage of human evolution† (Sifford 1983). More recently, theorists like Slater, Laing, and Henry have focused on the alienating effects of socialization into a culture based on denial, distortion, and repression. Culture, that is, works to deny and distort what is most human in us. Regardless of whether we see midlife crisis as a consequence of social structure or culture, many theorists tell us that midlife crisis is widespread phenomenon. The impact of historical forces on the life course does not stop with one generation. Each generation encounters a set of historical circumstances that shape its subsequent life history and that generation transmits to the next one both the impact that historical events had on its life course and the resulting patterns of timing. Cultural norms governing the timeliness of life transitions (being â€Å"early,† â€Å"late,† or â€Å"on time†) and norms governing familial obligations also shape individual and collective family timing. In all these areas, historical and cultural differences are critical. Particularly significant is the convergence of socioeconomic and cultural forces. For example, â€Å"middle-age crisis† was a relatively recent invention in popular psychology in American society. It was attributed to middle-class women in particular in describing the problems connected to menopause and the â€Å"empty nest† in mid adulthood. â€Å"Middle-age crises† were not widespread, however. They were a product of stereotypes and a social construction rather than of sociobiological or familial realities. Since the 1970s, a considerable volume of feminist psychological literature has placed â€Å"middle-age crisis† in its proper perspective by exposing the cultural and â€Å"scientific† stereotypes that created the concept (Lawrence 1980). For the process to be fully working, then, we would expect to have evidence from lay accounts that the wider public had accepted and normalised the condition. Further evidence was provided by a Gallup poll survey in 1992 which found that over two-thirds of middle-aged men in the UK believed that there was some indefinable phenomenon called the ‘midlife crisis’. Furthermore, it stated that over half of the sample thought they had experienced a midlife crisis, or were actually having one, at some point between the ages of 40 and 60 (Neustatter 1996:80). Second, a further stage occurred in the United States when the midlife crisis started to appear as a legitimate condition in course material designed for the training of nurses. The psychologist Carl Jung believed that in Western cultures, the midlife crisis of males is rooted in a search for deeper spiritual roots (Marin 2001). From the perspective of male and female roles, there is often a reversal of roles away from the closed/traditional paradigm; that is, the husband moves inward to find strength for the future, and the female moves outward to the work world and career (Morris 1995). Thus midlife men experience the self-doubts, malaise, and concern over issues of a failure of adaptation. External economic changes in the opportunity structure affect changes in the timing of entry into the labour force, and, ultimately, retirement. Institutional and legislative changes, such as compulsory school attendance, child-labour laws, and mandatory retirement, shape the work-life transitions of different age groups and eventually influence their family life as well. People who suffer a midlife crisis in this form see the exciting experience of forward movement as ending with youth and the future as repetition and decay. Some people have midlife crises, but most do not. Crises do occur in midlife, but they are usually caused by a variety of factors, certainly not by chronology alone. We conclude that a more adequate theory of human development must take into account both the socio-historical environment, on the one hand, and internal psychological and biological processes on the other. References Lawrence, B. S. (1980). â€Å"The Myth of Midlife Crisis. † Sloan Management Review, 21(4): 35-49. Marin, Rick. (2001). â€Å"Is This the Face of a Midlife Crisis? † N. Y. TIMES, June 24, [section] 9. Morris, B. (1995). â€Å"Executive Women Confront Midlife Crisis. † Fortune (September 18): 60-86. Neustatter, A. (1996). Looking the Demon in the Eye: the challenge of midlife, London: Joseph. Sifford, D. (1983). â€Å"Midlife Crisis: The Nagging Pain of Unfulfilled Dreams,† Philadelphia Inquirer, October 17, p. 4.

Xena vs. The Odyssey :: Compare Comparing Contrast

Xena vs. The Odyssey In this episode of "Xena: The Warrior princess," the story of Odysseus return to Ithaca after the Trojan War is told. The episode starts when Xena and Gabriel are walking down a beach and they see a man fighting alone against a small army, so they decide to help him out. After the battle was over, they found out that the man fighting was Odysseus. He told Xena his story and how he had been traveling for ten years to get home because Poseidon was angry with him. Xena and Gabriel decide to help him get to Ithaca, so they sail off. First they got cut up in a terrible storm that Poseidon sent them. Most Odysseus' men(of the ones he had left after ten years) died here, but still the ship survived. After this they had to sail close to the island of the sirens. Xena knowing the effect of their singing in men tied up every man left in the boat including Odysseus. The closed they got to the island the stronger the singing. The effect of the voices of the sirens was so strong that Odysse us almost broke away to go to them, but then Xena started singing really loud to contra rest the effect. Finally Xena wan they sail safely through the island. Finally they got to Ithaca, where Odysseus found out that Penelope's hand would be given in marriage to the winner of the contest taking place the next day. Odysseus, helped by Xena, also found out that Penelope had been faithful to him all those years by rejecting every suitor she had. Yet after ten years, they had finally pressure her to decide, so she decided that whomever wan the contest would be her husband. The contest consisted of the trial of the bow, every suitor had to first string it and then shut an arrow through 12 arrows. None even got close, until Odysseus tried it, he was really close to making it. However, he could not quite do it alone, so Xena without anyone seen her, nor even Odysseus himself, help him out. Ones Odysseus had wan the contest he revealed his identity and helped by Xena, they killed all of the suitors. During the trip, Xena and Odysseus got quite close, in fact they felt in love, so when Odysseus attended to leave his kingdom to Penelope to go with Xena, she convinced him that it was not wise and that his place was with his wife, who had been waiting for him for ten years, ruling Ithaca.

A drowning experience

Drowning Experience Tommy had Just learnt how to swim and was eager to demonstrate his newly acquired skills to his best friends. Immediately after school, he invited his friends, Gary and John, â€Å"Shall we go swimming at the crystal clear lake behind my flat tomorrow morning? † His friends nodded readily. Tom's mother had warned him about the dangers but his bursting desire to show off got the better of him and he simply cast her words to the winds. The next morning, the sun shone brilliantly across the glistening water, casting olden shadows dancing on the lake.The boys gathered punctually at the lake bank. They quickly stripped down to their swimming trunks and Jumped into the water. They waded merrily and frolicked in the water and laughed boisterously as the water hit their faces. Tommy suddenly made a suggestion, â€Å"Shall we compete and see who reach the other end of the lake first? † Before Tommy could finish his words, the other two boys had already taken up the challenge and started swimming right away. Just when Tommy was about to get ready, he felt an acute pain on his left thigh ut ignored it.However, seconds later, the pain accentuated and his left leg began to feel numb and heavy. Seized by panic, Tommy started thrashing in the water to stay afloat but he felt like a fast sinking ship and swallowed many gulps of water. Presently, he waved his hands frantically and screamed hysterically, â€Å"Help me! † Gary and John turned around and their blood froze at the hair-raising sight. Fortunately, they quickly got a grip on themselves and swam towards their distressed friend with very ounce of their strength.With Gary and John's concerted efforts, Tommy was finally dragged onto shore. However, Tommy's face had already turned ghastly pale and he was rendered unconscious. Worst, his leg was bleeding profusely. Without a moment to spare, Gary raced to pick up his shorts, ransacked its pockets and found his mobile phone. He immedi ately dialed for an ambulance. Shortly, the wail of the sirens could be heard. The paramedics bandaged Tommy's wound, lifted him onto a stretcher and carried im into the ambulance and it sped off.Gary also informed Tommy's mother. At the hospital, a doctor swiftly attended to Tommy. When Tommy's mother arrived, the doctor explained to her that Tommy was bitten by a sea snake and he had purged its venom from Tommy's body. Tommy's mother thanked Gary and John for their alertness and quick-wittedness. When Tommy finally came around, he teared uncontrollably, seeking forgiveness from his mother for his defiance. It was a close shave for Tommy and he would not forget that fateful day.

Argumentative Essay On Common Core - 1131 Words

Genary Gomez Mr. Scheiner English Period #4 11/21/13 Argumentative Essay on Common Core â€Å"Without Common Core we (America) are not where we want or need to be.† The New York Times reported this in August, 2013. Currently, every state sets its own curriculum for its schools. The result is that the United States ranks â€Å"25th in math, 17th in science, and 14th in reading compared to students in 27 industrialized countries.† Without national standards, students depend upon the luck of where they were born or schooled to get a comprehensive education that will prepare them for life. If the United States is†¦show more content†¦But what is Common Core? The National Review in May of this year in an article titled, Two Moms vs. Common Core explains: â€Å"Common Core is a set of math and English standards developed largely with Gates Foundation money and pushed by the Obama administration and the National Governors Association. The standards define what every schoolchild should learn each year, from first grade through twelfth, and the package includes teacher evaluations tied to federally funded tests designed to ensure that schools teach to Common Core. Over 40 states hurriedly adopted Common Core, some before the standards were even written, in response to the Obama administration’s making more than $4 billion in federal grants conditional on their doing so. Only Texas, Alaska, Virginia, and Nebraska declined. (Minnesota adopted the English but not the math standards.)† I want a quality education. I’m part of the next generation. People in charge now aren’t going to be in charge when I become an adult. My generation will be making decisions and if we make the wrong decisions, there will be big consequences. 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