There’s no doubt men and women are quite different in how they handle emotional situations and midlife is one of the most notable examples.
As a female, you have been trained to take care of other people, to be responsible for their well-being, to make things run smoothly. You have been taught when relationships don’t go well it is your responsibility to correct the situation. You look inside yourself for the answers. In the case of his midlife crisis, you won’t be able to correct the situation—the answers must come from him.
You cannot change his behaviour, he must. If you think you can change his behavior by changing yourself, you are in for a lot of anger and disappointment. This issue is not about you, it is all about him. Men are expected to hide their emotions but that doesn’t mean the emotions don’t exist—they’re buried deep in the recesses of how ‘real men’ act.
Men and women are from the same planet, no matter how alien the male of the species seems when he’s plowing through his midlife crisis. When you get angry it is okay for you to express that anger but “society” says he must be in control no matter the situation. Because he appears in control of his emotions it is easy to believe that he is unfeeling but even the most grown-up men sometimes have a need to cry.
Unfortunately, it’s just not allowed.
