Difficult age in life, 20s, 30s, or later

From my experience, I can say each age in life has its difficulties. When I was in my teens, I was much bothered and troubled because I couldn’t fit any specific group of people.

No matter how much people loved me, I was always feeling not part of the group and lonely. In my 20s, I thought I was starting to get old (!) and that because when I was younger, I hadn’t followed my dreams, it was too late.

In my 30s, I had to fight depression and a lot of pressure coming from the fact I became a father, and I wanted not only to be able to provide for my family but also to be an example for them.

The hard part was to deal with the fact that besides I was hating my job and life, I had to show myself calm and happy.

In general, from my experience working with people, the difficult age is toward the late 30s, when most people realize they are “adults,” but they haven’t created anything worthwhile in their lives.

And by worth, I mean something that deeply mattered to them, like doing a job they loved, pursuing that dream, and traveling the world.

In most people’s minds, unconsciously, it is like the 40-year-old mark is a line of separation, and if you didn’t make it before it, then you are condemned to live a meaningless until you die.

That pressure brings a lot of people to depression, which can manifest in different forms. For some, in high sadness, others in anger, others again in drinking or abusing drugs, and others again in going to “survivor mode” (repetitive life with no aspirations or hope of change).

Whatever the difficulties, the hard part is always recognizing that you aren’t alone and you aren’t broken. There’s no shame in being the way you are and having created the life you have created so far. Once you realize that, you are free to move on.