Men (and women) are not alone in their suffering, at least when it comes to a midlife crisis. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences discovered that apes hit a depressive midlife dip just like humans do.
Study researchers also discovered that dip is of the psychological nature, not necessarily as heavily linked to social factors as was previously studied and thought. Study co-author Dr. Alex Weiss, who doubles as a senior lecturer the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, explains more:
“I don’t think any of us really know (if apes have a sense of their own mortality). What may be going on here or in the human case is that these sorts of thoughts that are typically described as being part of the midlife crisis, you know, being aware of your mortality and so on and so forth, it’s maybe not depression. This is just part of human development, as it is part of the chimpanzee and orangutan psychological development.”
This enlightening discovery opens up a whole new door of psychological possibilities when it comes to apes. Perhaps they have the same penchant for phobias and anxiety issues as humans do, or may even suffer from specific fears, such as fear of climbing a tree or even of driving, if they were ever trained to get behind a wheel.
The possibilities have just become endless. Interesting stuff!
Read interview with Weiss at NPR: http://www.npr.org/2012/11/24/165806789/apes-humans-share-a-happiness-dip-mid-life
