We all know what a midlife crisis looks like. It’s that perennial image the greying man in his 50s, applying Just For Men regularly, wearing ‘shades’ and driving a red convertible - right? Er, wrong.
According to a new study, the 'midlife crisis' is no longer solely the pastime of middle-aged men: actually, we’re most likely to first find ourselves existentially catastrophizing nearer to 30 - at 29, to be precise.
And then again at 39 and 49, too. New research shows that birthdays ending in ‘9’, whichever the decade, prompt us to evaluate our lives in more detail and ‘question whether [our] lives have been meaningful’, says co-author of the study, Adam Alter. It is, quite obviously, a more eloquent way of saying that we panic, big style.
We start to worry that our jobs, relationships and friendships are not quite good enough - hence the reason that big purchases - inevitably, more shoes we can’t afford - and affairs increase around that time. Oh gad.
But at least you can take a morsel of comfort that, scary as it sounds, you have been warned, dear reader! Information is power, so if you catch yourself fretting around your 29th birthday remember that more than likely, all is well. (And maybe just hold off any big life decisions until you actually reach the big 3-0)