In the February 19th issue of The New York Times, Patricia Cohen reported the disturbing results of a study released by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study showed the suicide rate among 45 to 54 year-olds increased nearly 20 percent from 1999 to 2004. The increase was most dramatic among woman aged 45 to 54 where the rate increased 31%.

Doctors have tried to identify causes for the drastic increase. Some suggest that since 2002, fewer woman use hormone replacements during menopause. For some of these woman this can lead to increased depression which when left untreated could lead to suicide. Mental health professionals argue that the 21st Century life has more stress and less family support than previous generations. They feel this stress can trigger feelings of depression and suicide. You don’t have to be a doctor to notice something askew in our age group. Just type the word midlife in Google and look at the results. I was amazed to discover that midlife is associated with the word crisis in 5 of the top 10 search results. This is especially telling since Google ranks its searches based on the popularity of each article and the relevancy of the term typed in the search box to the content in the article. In a Google world it appears midlife is synonymous with crisis. Why do half the people in our age group find something akin to crisis associated with this period of their life? Why the crisis in midlife? The reasons our lives appear in midlife turmoil evolve around the very core of our being. As if a look in the mirror weren’t enough to cause a crisis, we also struggle with age discrimination, care of our ailing parents or worse yet their death, sending our children to college, changes in our marriage or significant relationships, impotence, hot flashes, osteoporosis and a general decline in energy. My Google search revealed midlife crisis articles written on topics like “midlife marriage crisis” and “his midlife crisis”. It even offers tests to determine if you are experiencing an actual crisis. As I read The New York Times article and skimmed the articles appearing in my Google search, I noticed that change was an element that consistently appears to trigger these crises. Could change and our inability to adapt to change be at the root of our growing number of midlife crises?We grow older and our bodies change. If we are woman this change means an end to our child bearing years. In men, aging can trigger baldness and episodes of impotence. Our children become teenagers and they change. While we have spent 18 years encouraging our children’s independence we still find it unnerving when they finally leave the nest.

Caring for my aging parents has been a particularly difficult period of my life. During this time I begrudgingly came to learn that change is inevitable. If change triggers our crises and change is inevitable then how can we avoid the inevitable crisis? In my opinion the answer is twofold. First, we must embrace change. As we age we need to continue to try new things and expand our comfort level in handling new situations. Don’t get stuck in a rut. Get out and enjoy life … become a life long learner. You’ll be amazed at how much fun it can be!

Second, I believe we need to learn to manage the changes we face. Risk is involved when we try anything new. We can mitigate the risk through use of good management skills and planning in advance for change. If we are to remain crisis free during our midlife we need to plan for the inevitable changes we will be faced with. We must control the changes life brings us instead of living with consequences that are less than optimal.

My crisis-less midlife plan seems pretty simplistic when you think about it. I propose a two part program. Step one is to challenge your brain, body and soul in ways you enjoy, be it with friends or with family, at home, at the office or at the gym. And step two is to plan for the changes you will face as you meet these challenges.