How midlife men can face identity loss, release old roles, and begin true personal reinvention.

For men after 50, a so-called midlife crisis often feels like restlessness, irritability, or a vague emptiness. But what if your midlife funk isn’t about cars, careers, or escape — but about grief and identity loss?

In this episode of Midlife Man Rising, experiential psychologist Nelson Pahl, Ph.D. reframes the midlife journey as an opportunity for growth, not decline. You’ll learn how the hidden grief of outdated roles and old identities can trigger what feels like midlife crisis depression, and why facing it head-on can open the door to midlife reinvention.

Discover how to:

• Recognize when your “crisis” is really grief in disguise
• Use one transformative question to release outdated identities
• Begin the process of personal reinvention after 50
• Shift from midlife funk to midlife transformation

If you’re a midlife man stuck between who you were and who you’re becoming, this episode gives you clarity, courage, and a starting point. Stop surviving and start rebuilding with proven tools for midlife men ready to evolve.

🎧 Listen now — and if you’re ready for deeper change, join Nelson’s 28-day program, Resurrection Camp, to reclaim your identity and create your midlife makeover.

Topics in this Episode

• Recognize When You’re Escaping Instead of Surrendering (0:53)
• Discover How Midlife Opens Opportunities for Personal Redefinition (1:13)
• Ask Yourself the One Question that Can Change Your Life (1:51)
• Understand Why an Opposing Value System May Emerge (2:23)
• Learn Why Identity Reconstruction is Essential (3:19)
• Try a Simple Practice to Begin the Shift (4:05)
• Choose Who You Become: Conscious Individuation (4:54)

Healing Links

28-Day Challenge: Resurrection Camp

Supporting Links

Empirical Research: Midlife Transformation, Not Crisis
Clinical Research: 3 Case Studies of Male Midlife Crisis
Jungian Research: Midlife Individuation
Professional Article: Identity as Dynamic Process

Next Episode: Men After 50: 5 Ways to Channel Your Midlife Anger(Midlife Resurrection Series - Part 3)

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.

Why Your Midlife Funk Isn’t What You Think: 5 Hidden Signs of Grief

Most men think a midlife crisis is about sports cars, career shifts, or chasing new thrills. But the truth is, midlife is a grief event — the death of old identities. In this episode, Dr. Nelson Pahl reveals five surprising signs your midlife funk might actually be unresolved grief in disguise.

You’ll discover:

• Why unexplained sadness is often grief for your younger self
• How nostalgia signals identity loss
• Why old passions feel empty — and what that means
• The link between restlessness and unresolved grief
• How feeling like a stranger to yourself is actually a call to grow

If you’ve ever wondered whether your “midlife crisis” is really something deeper, this episode will help you see midlife not as an ending, but as a resurrection.

Topics in this Episode

• Midlife is the Death of Former Identities (0:24)
• Historical Study on Midlife Crises in Men (1:23)
• The 5 Signs It's Actually Grief (2:43)
• Your Midlife "Crisis" May Be a Call to Grieve...and Grow (5:01)

Healing Links

28-Day Challenge: Resurrection Camp

Supporting Links

Empirical Research: Core Identity Transition Research
Foundation Research: Successful Midlife Development Study
HelpGuide Article: Analysis of Midlife Research

Next Episode:After 50 Men: Why You Struggle to Let Go of Old Identities (Midlife Resurrection Series - Part 2)

About the Host

Nelson Pahl, Ph.D. is an experiential psychologist that helps midlife men reclaim identity and reinvent themselves through his proprietary approaches, including Resurrection Camp, the Six Stones Retreat Arc, and his Legacy Lab.

How men over 50 can use ritual to release the past and step boldly into a new chapter.

Midlife isn’t just a crisis. It’s a crossroads. And for men over 50, one of the most powerful ways to move forward is through ritual. In this episode of Good Grief, John Doe, experiential psychologist Nelson Pahl shares why men need symbolic moments to close one chapter and begin another.

Learn simple but powerful rituals — from burning old memories to creating playlists or revisiting meaningful places — that help you honor identity loss, release the past, and reclaim authorship of your life.

If you’ve felt stuck in midlife, drifting without direction, this practice can give you clarity, closure, and courage.

👉 Discover how ritual helps men over 50:

• Let go of outdated identities
• Mark the shift from “who I was” to “who I’m becoming”
• Reinvent purpose with meaning and momentum

This is Part 3 of the Good Grief, John Doe mini-course — designed to help midlife men name their losses, reconnect with their bodies, and re-imagine their future.

Topics in this Episode

• The Ritual of Transition from Old to New Identities. (1:17)
• A Few Ritual Ideas for You (1:31)
• My Personal Example of Plan an Event (2:48)
• What Event Will You Plan? (5:33)

Healing Links

28-Day Challenge: Resurrection Camp

Supporting Links

Evidence-Based Article: Psychological Benefits of Ritual
Anthropological Research: Van Gennep's Rites of Passage Theory
Clinical Research: The Psychology of Rituals
Professional Article: Midlifers Need a Rite of Passage

Next Episode:Men Over 50: 5 Signs Your Midlife Funk is Really Grief in Disguise (Midlife Resurrection Series - Part 1)

About the Host

Nelson Pahl, Ph.D. is an experiential psychologist that helps midlife men reclaim identity and reinvent themselves through his proprietary approaches, including Resurrection Camp, the Six Stones Retreat Arc, and his Legacy Lab.

Midlife can feel like a storm inside your head — racing thoughts, old regrets, an uncertain future. For men over 50, this “midlife angst” often shows up as stress, irritability, or a vague emptiness you can’t quite name.

In this episode of Good Grief, John Doe, experiential psychologist Nelson Pahl introduces Sensory Mapping — a simple yet powerful tool to reconnect with your body, calm your nervous system, and uncover the real emotions behind the chaos.

You’ll discover how to:

• Ground yourself using your five senses
• Translate vague feelings into vivid clarity
• Release the hidden tension behind anger and anxiety
• Calm the inner storm and reclaim your presence

Whether you’re navigating identity loss, old expectations, or the quiet ache of midlife, Sensory Mapping can help you process what’s unspoken — and move forward with strength.

🎧 Listen now and learn how to turn midlife angst into midlife clarity.

Topics in this Episode

• What is Sensory Mapping (0:48)
• How Sensory Mapping Helps You (1:28)
• How to Start Sensory Mapping Today (2:00)
• A Personal Example of this Somatic Exercise (3:33)

Healing Links

28-Day Challenge: Resurrection Camp

Supporting Links

Empirical Research: Interoceptive Awareness & Emotional Regulation
Neuroscience Research: Mindfulness and Sensory Processing
Clinical Research: Somatic Experiencing Effectiveness
Harvard Health Article: ”What is Somatic Therapy?

Next Episode: Men Over 50: Create a Moment that Marks the Change (Good Grief, John Doe mini-course - Part 3)

About the Host

Nelson Pahl, Ph.D. is an experiential psychologist that helps midlife men reclaim identity and reinvent themselves through his proprietary approaches, including Resurrection Camp, the Six Stones Retreat Arc, and his Legacy Lab. He is also author of the upcoming book, The Upside of Gauguin Syndrome.

Midlife isn’t a crisis—it’s a crossroads.

Hosted by experiential psychologist Nelson Pahl, Ph.D., Good Grief, John Doe helps midlife men reclaim identity, reestablish purpose, and reinvent themselves after loss—loss of youth, energy, roles, relationships, and/or meaning.

Each episode blends practical tools, narrative therapy, and expressive practices to help you process grief, shed old identities, and step into your new self.

In this episode, Part 1, Nelson explains how midlife is really a grief event for a man, and he offers a simple practice to start addressing this midlife grief.

Topics in this Episode

• The Old Map No Longer Leads the Way (0:49)
• Midlife is a Grief Event (1:19)
• What We Lose in Midlife…But Rarely Admit (1:37)
• We Give Language to the Ache (2:11)
• Your Practice: Write an Elegy for What’s Missing (2:33)
• Midlife Elegy Prompts to Help You (3:15)
• An Example of How You Might Frame It All (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 Over 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 reclaim identity and reinvent themselves through his proprietary approaches, including Resurrection Camp, the Six Stones Retreat Arc, and his Legacy Lab. He is also author of the upcoming book, The Upside of Gauguin Syndrome.