Midlife Man Rising
Midlife Man Rising is a podcast for men after 50 who sense something’s off — the quiet grief of identity loss, the ache of midlife crisis depression, and the restless urge for midlife reinvention.
If you're tired of performing roles, chasing what no longer fits, or waking up with a hollow ache in your chest, this space is for you.
I bring clarity and courage through stories, reflections, and experiential practices that help midlife men:
- Reclaim who you once were and honor what you’ve lost
- Face the hidden grief of midlife, instead of pretending it doesn’t exist
- Redefine purpose beyond legacy, expectations, or success metrics
- Begin a midlife transformation that feels authentic, aligned, and meaningful
Each episode blends simple, evidence-based experiential techniques with narrative reflection so you can move forward with agency, not guilt.
Join me, Nelson Pahl, Ph.D., experiential psychologist, as we help the midlife man rise — turning midlife funk into personal reinvention.
Current and upcoming series include:
- Good Grief, John Doe mini-course
- Midlife Resurrection series
- Six Stones Reclamation suite
- Legacy Lab mini-course
👉 Follow the show if you're ready to stop surviving midlife and start rebuilding it with clarity and courage.
Midlife Man Rising
Men After 50: What We Secretly Grieve as a Midlife Man...But Never Admit (Mini-Course - Part 1)
In this episode of Midlife Man Rising, we explore why men after 50 often discover that midlife isn’t a crisis but a crossroads — a turning point between identity loss and personal reinvention.
Hosted by experiential psychologist Nelson Pahl, Ph.D., Good Grief, John Doe — a 3-part limited series — helps the midlife man navigate midlife transformation by reclaiming identity, reestablishing purpose, and finding meaning after loss: the loss of youth, energy, roles, relationships, and direction.
Each episode blends practical tools and experiential practices to help men after 50 and men after 40 process midlife crisis depression, shed outdated identities, and step into a midlife makeover that feels authentic.
In this episode, Part 1, Nelson explains how midlife, for a man, is really a grief event — the death of former selves — and he offers a simple practice to start addressing this midlife grief.
Topics in this Episode
- The Old Map No Longer Works (0:49)
- Midlife Crisis as Grief (1:19)
- What Men After 50 Rarely Admit (1:37)
- Language for the Ache (2:11)
- Writing a Midlife Elegy (2:33)
- Elegy Prompts for Men After 50 (3:15)
- A Midlife Elegy Example (3:46)
Healing Links
28-Day Challenge: Resurrection Camp
Supporting Links
EBSCO Research: Midlife Crisis Statistics & Definitions
Academic Article: Jungian Individuation Theory
Professional Article: “The Grief of Midlife Crisis”
Academic Resource: Masculinity and Grief
Next Episode: Men After 50: Sensory Mapping for Calming Midlife Angst (Good Grief, John Doe mini-course - Part 2)
About the Host
Nelson Pahl, Ph.D. is an experiential psychologist that helps midlife men move from midlife crisis depression to midlife reinvention. Through his proprietary approaches — Resurrection Camp, the Six Stones Retreat Arc, and his Legacy Lab — he guides men after 50 through identity loss, midlife transformation, and personal reinvention. He's also author of the book, Escaping Sartre's Hell: A Guide for Self-Validation in Midlife.
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