Does the midlife crisis have anything to do with type development and the fourth function?
Yes, I think it does. The fourth function with its particular kinds of difficulties can often appear at what Jung called our second half of life, which is usually around our 35th to our 37th year. For many of us our energy up until this point has been directed outwardly to things like education, career, marriage and family, getting our own home, material security, etc. Let’s suppose we have been modestly successful in accomplishing these goals which represent our status of being an adult in this society. Then one day, much to our surprise, we find that we don’t have the energy we used to for these things. We are puzzled by our lack of enthusiasm and wonder if we are somehow losing our grip. This can lead us to intensify our use of our one-sided consciousness. Our sense of dissatisfaction can be projected outward in the search for a new mate or new career, but often these attempts to reinforce who we are make us feel even emptier. What is happening? It just may be that we have entered a
