You have probably heard of a "mid-life crisis". I like to see what others, individual and organizational, have to say about a topic that I have heard of. I looked up "mid-life crisis" in Google search and was immediately asked if I meant "midlife crisis". I had written what I meant, but I felt it was probably ok to switch to the hyphen-less suggestion.
I was referred by some of the search results to Wikipedia, where I found this about "midlife crisis":
A midlife crisis is a transition of identity and self-confidence that can occur in middle-aged individuals, typically 45 to 55 years old.[1][2][3] The phenomenon is described as a psychological crisis brought about by events that highlight a person's growing age, inevitable mortality, and possibly lack of accomplishments in life. This may produce feelings of intense depression, remorse, and high levels of anxiety, or the desire to achieve youthfulness or make drastic changes to their current lifestyle or feel the wish to change past decisions and events.
The term was coined by Elliott Jaques in 1965. More modern research has shown this is not a phase that most middle-aged people actually experience, and some have questioned the existence of this phenomenon.
"Crisis", related to "decision point", is one of those words that I see used too often. If my livelihood is built on making paper bags and suddenly I am out of paper, or they are out of fashion, or against a new law, or some other paper bag difficulty arises, I may be excited and depressed and afraid and confused, all at once.
I think doubt and confusion about "identity" and "self-confidence" can certainly arise at any age, in any era, from all sorts of causes and events. I have a suspicion that for those over 70 or so, "purpose" and "goals" can become a source of doubt and confusion.
A good friend, a good counselor, a good pastor/rabbi/imam can often help deal with inner confusion. So may a wife or husband, of course. I suspect that more people worldwide are reading, studying, thinking and communicating which can all lead to rather sudden doubt and confusion. Writing what comes to mind while wrestling with doubts about life, jobs, love, the future, one's achievements and failures, etc. can also help.
Writing for personal reasons, to see how you say things and whether this set of words or that set feels more accurate can be inexpensive and immediately helpful in clarifying one's thoughts.
https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2012/02/thoughts-and-ideas-below-surface.html
You might be interested in "Redirect" by Timothy D. Wison and "Opening Up" by James Pennebaker.
https://fearfunandfiloz.blogspot.com/2014/07/various-ideas.html
