204 Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan
Developmental Crisis: Generativity Versus Stagnation
Within this text, midlife adults are defined as people between the ages of
45 and 70. With increasing longevity, middle adulthood may even extend into
the early 70s. The “Retirement and Reinvention” chapter that follows next
describes adults who are redefining themselves through their 60s, 70s, and 80s,
and there is thus some overlap with adults in midlife. Midlife is characterized
as a time of reassessing one’s life and priorities, grappling with awareness of
mortality, and ideally moving forward with renewed commitment.Biological Development
Midlife adults face a biological aging process that includes hormonal changes
for both men (andropause) and women (menopause), beginning declines in
energy, hearing, vision, and memory, all accompanied by graying hair and
weight changes. Midlife adults must adapt to many changes in their “youth-
ful” body. Watching the body change (and having these changes noticed by
others) can be loss-filled. This is particularly poignant for women because
American society is much less accepting of the physical aging process in
women. Some adults feel these changes as “narcissistic injuries” while others
adapt with more resilience.
The transition of menopause is one of the few aspects of midlife that
developmental research has explored. Kanelis, Kostanski, Komesaroff, and
Stojanovska (2009) found that some women were very upset by changes asso-
ciated with menopause while others (although experiencing menopause as a
stressful process) appeared to cope without great difficulty. The resilient group
focused on faith, family and internal strengths, and actively looked for coping
methods rather than blaming menopause for their life difficulties. The resilient
women examined their relationships with their partners and others and used
regular exercise, spending more time with female friends, becoming more asser-
tive in their work environments, reflection and alternative medicine approaches
such as massage, counseling, acupuncture, vitamin therapy, and diet adjustment
to cope with their changing bodies. The women who had more trouble with
menopause expressed vulnerability, envy of younger women, and had difficulty
accepting that they were no longer young. They externalized all distress and
disruption by blaming menopause (Kanelis et al., 2009).
Although midlife adults experience longer reaction time and short-term
memory deficits, neuroscientists have concluded that the brain continues to
develop, change, and adapt throughout life (Strauch, 2010). The growth of
brain connections (neuroplasticity) allows us to make better decisions, to rec-
ognize patterns faster, and to find creative solutions to problems. Brains in
middle age begin to “power up” not down. In some cases, midlife adults begin
to use both the right and left side of the brain instead of one side to solve prob-
lems, a style characteristic of individuals with the highest cognitive abilities.
One way to keep brains alive and growing is to actively explore ideas and
people that challenge one’s view of the world. Learning new skills such as
playing the piano or a new language prompts brain cells to reconfigure and
rejuvenate (Strauch, 2010).