Are you one of the many people feeling lost in your 50s? Unsure of what has happened in your life thus far and not knowing where you are going or what you want to be doing as you get older? Do you feel that the spark has gone from your life, you’re not sure when it went out or how to get it back.

If you have heard about The U-shape Happiness Curve then you may be approaching your 50s with some trepidation or you may be in them already and thinking…is this life? The U-shape Happiness curve proposes that by the time we reach middle age - roughly our 50s now, we will be in a slump, at the bottom of the U and at our unhappiest, before we start to rise again in our 60s.

Newly divorced, separated or bereaved and starting your life again on your own can be overwhelming. All of the couples things that you used to take for granted, dining out, holidays, always having a plus one may now have ended but that doesn’t mean that your life has. Navigating through can certainly have its hard moments but there are ways that you can get through and come out much stronger.

We can all feel lonely from time to time it is a normal human emotion and there are many reasons for it. One person’s experience of being lonely may be different from another, each experience will be personal to the individual. Many people choose to be alone, they prefer living alone and they are happy to be away from busy social situations. For many though, loneliness is not a lifestyle choice, the ONS in the UK has found that 45% of adults feel lonely from time to time which equates to roughly 25 million people.

Loss is an inevitable part of living, we can’t go through life without experiencing loss of some sort or another and grief is the natural process that we will go through to help us to heal from it. There is no quick fix to dealing with grief and no one-size-fits-all either. Whether it is the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, moving home, the loss of a beloved pet, loss of physical ability, or loss of financial security. Whatever the circumstances the feelings of grief and loss will be present and knowing how to deal with them and how to get through the period is crucial.