Researchers have found that satisfaction with life drops in our late 30s and bottoms out in our 40s,rising steadily, before reaching a peak in our 70s. You can call it the grandkid effect maybe?Well, despite these disparities, tonight, in Jonathan Rauch's humble opinion, there is no such thing as a midlife crisis.Writing a book on age and happiness, I kept feeling a jolt, like deja vu.I would be interviewing middle-aged men and women, but they had a secret.They expressed embarrassment about how they felt, often shame.But they kept it to themselves. I know this territory.We gay Americans call it the closet. I lived in one for 25 years. It was a lonely, sad, painful place.Now here I am, hearing the same music, but with different words.This time, the people I hear it from are not hiding their sexuality. They are hiding their midlife slump.Recent research by economists, psychologists, and even in brain scans shows that age is not a neutral emotional backdrop.Feeling satisfied and grateful is easiest in the early and late decades of life, and harder in the middle.Midlife dissatisfaction seems to be a natural and normal transition, as our values change and our brains develop.It appears we have evolved to chase success and status in youth.In late adulthood, we shift our priorities toward community and connection.
研究人员发现，我们对生活的满意度，在30多岁时会下降，40多岁时会触底，而后则稳步提升，直至70多岁时达到峰值。也许你会称这种现象为“老小孩效应”？尽管如此，今晚，乔纳森・劳奇将在《管见所及》栏目，就中年危机根本不存在一事，分享自己的观点。写一本关于年龄与幸福的书，我一直感到颇为震惊，似曾相识。我会采访中年男女，但他们有一个秘密。他们对自己的感受感到难堪，常常感到羞愧。但他们对此一直保密。我知道这个事情。我们美国同性恋人把它叫做壁橱。我在其中生活了25年。那是一个孤独、悲伤、痛苦的地方。现在我在这里，听着同样的音乐，但说着不同话。这一次，对我讲话的人，并没有隐藏他们的性取向。他们隐藏的是中年衰退。最近，经济学家、心理学家的最新研究，甚至脑部扫描都表明年龄并非一个中性的情感背景。在我们早年和晚年的生活中，感到满足和感激是最容易的，而在中年则较难。中年的不满足似乎是一种自然的、正常的转变，因为我们的价值观变了，我们的大脑发育了。我们年轻时开始追名逐利。在晚年，我们则把优先权转向了社区与联系。
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