Generation Xhausted

When I was reading the Economist last night

Ok that's a lie - I was actually reading Grazia but my DH showed me an article in the Economist that struck a cord. It was all about Generation Xhausted and how changes in demography and job patterns are altering the age distribution of stress.

Image and story courtesy of
http://www.economist.com/node/21560546

It used to be thought that mid 40's were the most stressful period for most people. The "sandwich generation" were caught caring for adolescent children who stay at home longer and also for their elderly parents. Now the oldies are living and staying healthy for longer it's Generation Xhausted we should pity.
Professional parents in their late 30's are now the victims of two colliding trends. Life is slowing down and speeding up at the same time; families arrive later as careers are accelerating. The most gruelling part of child-rearing now coincides with the make or break phase for careers and many professional couples in their late 30's are simply exhausted - and I count myself into that statistic!

I'll be interested to watch how Marissa Mayer gets on - the recently appointed and pregnant 37 year old new chief executive of Yahoo. Could she be the new pin-up for Generation Xhausted?

I'm off to re apply some more Touche Eclat,

Sarah x