30 Years of Research Reveals Why Midlife Isn’t a Crisis | Margie Lachman - EP 812

**John R. Miles** (0:02)
You might need midi if you ever hair sprayed your bangs into a waterfall, layered slouch socks, tightest crunchy to the bottom corner of your t-shirt, or tried to go for a run with a CD player.
If this took you down memory lane, you might need midi. Perimenopause can start 10 years before you actually go through menopause. So for some women, that can be as early as 35 Nobody ever told you that? Well, nobody told us either. That's why we built midi.

**Margie Lachman** (0:29)
If you're experiencing symptoms like night sweats, weight gain, or just generally don't feel like yourself anymore, you may be in perimenopause. But here's some good news.

**John R. Miles** (0:38)
With the right care, these symptoms are treatable.

**Margie Lachman** (0:40)
Book a virtual visit with a menopause specialist at midi. Visit joinmid.com to schedule with an expert who gets it.

**John R. Miles** (0:48)
Specialist-led care, virtual visits, insurance eligible.

**Margie Lachman** (0:52)
Midlife needs midi. Results may vary. Medications prescribed only if clinically appropriate based on a consultation with a clinician. Insurance coverage varies.

**John R. Miles** (0:59)
Check with your plan for coverage. What if midlife isn't the beginning of the decline we've been taught to expect? For more than 30 years, psychologist Dr. Margie Lachman has studied how people change across adulthood, and what her research reveals about midlife is surprisingly hopeful.
In fact, she found that some of the very things we assume get worse with age can actually get stronger. Take a listen to this.

**Margie Lachman** (1:24)
No, we cannot predict how long we're going to live, clearly. But the statistics are such that when you get to 40, 50, you still have plenty of time left and you can make those remaining years really awesome and you can be healthy and happy. I think it's really important to focus on things that you are gaining rather than losing, thinking about the gains rather than the losses and trying your best to minimize the losses so that you really can live the rest of your life in a really positive way, which benefits not only you, but also those around you who are depending on you, those younger and older.

**John R. Miles** (2:02)
It's your friend John and welcome to Passion Struck. I'm so glad you're here. Whether you're a long time listener or someone who just discovered the show, thank you for pressing play today.
Maybe you've built the life you were supposed to want, but you've quietly wondered why it still doesn't feel like enough.
If that's you, you're in the right place.
Every week, I sit down with the world's top scientists, researchers and thinkers to uncover what it actually takes to build an intentional life that matters. Thanks for joining me. Let's get into it.
Welcome back to Passion Struck episode 812 Today, we're continuing our series, The Adaptive Brain, How Your Mind Learns, Changes and Heals. Earlier in the week, Dan Arley challenged us to think about the risks we take and the ones we might regret never taking. Today, we're zooming out and asking a different question. What if we're thinking about getting older all wrong? Somewhere along the way, we've come to associate aging with decline. Less energy, less possibility, less capacity to change. But what if that's not the whole story? That's what makes my conversation with Dr. Margie Lachman so fascinating. Margie is a developmental psychologist and one of the leading researchers on adult development. For more than 30 years, she's helped lead the midlife in the United States, or MIDAS, study following thousands of people across adulthood to understand what really happens to us as we move through life. And some of what she's discovered challenges the story we've been telling ourselves. Midlife isn't necessarily a crisis. In fact, Margie's research shows that people can maintain their happiness, preserve cognitive abilities longer than we once thought, and experience a stronger sense of control during midlife. We also talked about something I found especially meaningful. Generativity. The shift from focusing primarily on ourselves to using what we've learned to help other people grow. And that raises a question that I think is worth asking at any age. What if this isn't the chapter where you're supposed to slow down? What if it's the chapter where you're supposed to become more of who you are? So let's dive in. Here's my conversation with Dr. Margie Lachman. Thank you for choosing Passion Struck and choosing me to be your host and guide on your journey to creating an intentional life that matters. Now, let that journey begin.
I am absolutely thrilled today to welcome Margie Lachman to Passion Struck. Margie, how are you today? Congratulations on the launch of Primetime, A New Vision for Midlife.