Wegweiser Crisis of meaning · Orientation & support Deutsch

⏳ Crisis of meaning in midlife

Looking back, reassessing and the question "Is this still my life?" – often between the mid-40s and mid-50s, but on no fixed timetable.

Midlife Midlife crisis Life review Empty nest

In brief

In midlife, several themes often converge: the comparison between the life lived and the life not lived, physical changes, grown-up children moving out ("empty nest"), reaching or missing career goals and a growing awareness of one's own mortality. The phenomenon commonly called "midlife crisis" in everyday speech is not a medical term but a description from popular psychology – not everyone in this phase of life experiences a crisis, and those who do experience it at very different times.

Step by step

  1. Take stock instead of leapingA structured look back (e.g. in writing, in counselling or in conversation) often helps more than an impulsive change of course.
  2. Create a window of timeFormats such as educational leave (Bildungsurlaub), a sabbatical or a monastery stay can create room to think without everything having to change at once.
  3. Professional assessment if the strain persistsIf the crisis turns into persistent hopelessness or joylessness, check the warning signs on the page "When professional help is needed".

Deadlines

Watch out – common mistakes
  • Comparing yourself with supposedly more successful peers (including via social media) often increases dissatisfaction further without answering the actual question.
  • Abrupt decisions made solely out of the crisis (e.g. resigning without notice, suddenly ending a relationship) are often hard to undo.
  • There are no reliable statistics on how many people in Germany go through "a midlife crisis" – claims with concrete percentages should be viewed critically.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

State of research

The idea of a nearly universal "midlife crisis" is controversially discussed in psychological research on ageing; several studies on life satisfaction across the lifespan (partly discussed as following a U-shaped curve) deliver inconsistent results and moreover often refer to non-German samples. A specifically German, current and methodologically reliable study with concrete frequency data was not found in the course of this research. This page therefore deliberately avoids figures and describes the phenomenon in qualitative terms only.

Who is responsible
  • No official responsibility; depending on need, counselling, pastoral care or medical/psychotherapeutic help
Further reading
Recognising a crisis of meaning: an overviewSabbatical and time out from your jobMonastery stay and retreat days

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Crisis of meaning in midlife“?
Looking back, reassessing and the question "Is this still my life?" – often between the mid-40s and mid-50s, but on no fixed timetable.
What should I do first?
  • Take stock instead of leaping: A structured look back (e.g. in writing, in counselling or in conversation) often helps more than an impulsive change of course.
  • Create a window of time: Formats such as educational leave (Bildungsurlaub), a sabbatical or a monastery stay can create room to think without everything having to change at once.
  • Professional assessment if the strain persists: If the crisis turns into persistent hopelessness or joylessness, check the warning signs on the page "When professional help is needed".
What do I need to watch out for?
  • Comparing yourself with supposedly more successful peers (including via social media) often increases dissatisfaction further without answering the actual question.
  • Abrupt decisions made solely out of the crisis (e.g. resigning without notice, suddenly ending a relationship) are often hard to undo.
  • There are no reliable statistics on how many people in Germany go through "a midlife crisis" – claims with concrete percentages should be viewed critically.
Evidence
  • See "Ueberblick Sinnkrise erkennen" (overview: recognising a crisis of meaning) for the classification of the term "midlife crisis" (Elliott Jaques, 1965) and the note on the uncertain state of research.
As of

As of September 2026 · Sources and method

A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.