A paper which establishes a link between the mid-life crisis of Baby Boomers and the American Dream from a councelors point of view.
Each year approximately three million baby boomers turn 40. This is a time of introspection and re-evaluation of who the baby boomer is. This is the time of mid-life crisis and the American Dream. Most baby boomers went to college, got a successful job, married, had 2.5 children, and bought a house in the suburbs. Now they look at life and ask, “Is this all there is to life?” Many of these baby boomers are divorced, have quit their jobs, given up their home in the suburbs and find themselves in a mid-life crisis. It is the American Dream and the mid-life crisis that this paper will focus on. What is the mid-life crisis? Why has the American Dream failed for many? Why are the baby boomers finding themselves feeling unfulfilled in life? What does research show about mid-life crisis? Can mid-life crisis be considered an actual diagnosis for people suffering from mental anguish? What steps can the middle-age individual take to prevent the mid-crisis? How does this affect my worldview about those experiencing mid-life crisis? How does it relate to current news items on television? What are the ramifications of this research show in regards to mid-life crisis? As a counselor how will this research affect the way I might treat someone going through the mid-life crisis? How does this affect my viewpoint of my family, and perhaps my viewpoints of my family? Can I recognize how family members have suffered mid-life crisis and the effects of this in their life?