DEPRESSION RISK “HIGHEST IN 40’S”

Famous Buddhist quote:

“Terrible or not, difficult or not, the only thing that is beautiful,
noble, religious and mystical is to be happy”.

Well that’s all very well, but it is not that easy to be happy. Particularly if, as new research suggests, you are 44 years of age. Then you’re really stuffed.

I’ve got a year to go and then I am going to be most vulnerable to depression. This does make sense – and gives more credibility to “the midlife crisis”. Apparently the findings were consistent worldwide, affecting men and women, the rich and the poor, the single and the married and to those with and without children.

The researcher was quoted as saying “the reason why middle age was a universally vulnerable time was unclear”. Well, let me make it clearer then. I shall provide my Top 10 list, (Top 13 actually) but I could go on forever:-

– We are depressed because we are nearly closer to being 50 than 40
– We are depressed because our bodies are beginning to look like shit and don’t do what they are told
– We are depressed because our children have better skin than we do and go to better parties
– We are depressed because we clearly are not going to achieve our life’s ambitions
– We are depressed because we are bored
– We are depressed because we are trapped
– We are depressed because we have become cynical old gits
– We are depressed because we are tired
– We are depressed because we have lost our sense of direction and our sense of humour
– We are depressed because money hasn’t made us happy
– We are depressed because we don’t have enough money
– We are depressed because we don’t have any children
– We are depressed because we have children.

To make things even worse the article said “But encouragingly, by the time you are 70, if you are still physically fit then on average you are as happy and mentally healthy as a 20 year old”. What? By 70!! We have to wait that long?

Now I really am depressed.