POLL: Does growing older fill you with anxiety and impact on your lifestyle?
A mid-life crisis will cost people living in the Midlands an average of £7,767.38 and is likely to start at the age of 43, according to new research.
It also discovered that many will reach for the hair-dye, change their jobs or start wearing clothes that they think make them look younger.
The study also found 43 per cent of over-40s in the region said they have had a mid-life crisis, higher than the UK as a whole where 39 per cent of over-40s say they have had one.
An urge to travel is the most costly aspect of a mid-life crisis, in the West Midlands costing an average of £1,490.80.
Despite the costs, almost two thirds of people in the Midlands believe that a crisis can be a good thing, providing an opportunity to break away from scenarios that cause unhappiness, and a chance to set new goals.
The impact of mid-life crises on the workplace is significant too. Thirty-three per cent of respondents said that they think they happen most to people who have been in the same career for too long, indicating that a change of career may be worth considering, regardless of age.
While 35 per cent of people in the region admitted to feeling 'Sunday night dread', where they fear what the week ahead at work may hold. Worryingly for managers who want to retain staff, 23 per cent said they definitely wouldn't be working for the same company in 10 years' time.
The most common way to tackle a mid-life crisis was a change of career, with 25 per cent switching employers after the age of 40.
Olivia Hill, chief human resources officer at AAT – Association of Accounting Technicians – the organisation that commissioned the survey, said: "This study found that a huge proportion of people have felt anxiety about the direction their life has taken and that one of the most common causes for a mid-life crisis is dissatisfaction in the workplace."
