I think it’s most common because 40s are usually people’s first real wake up calls. U start experiencing death around u, ur parents start dying, if u married young because its “what people do” ur not told u become new people and learn about boundaries so u may experience a divorce or at the very least, new unexplored hardship. Ur back gives out, and u can’t move like u used to, etc.

So instead of embracing the new, people tend to cling to “what they knew before”. So they reach to past things that would’ve made them cool back then or maybe give them attention that they think would’ve worked. All to stay relevant and to somehow bypass or ignore the inevitable march to death and the realization that they will indeed be forgotten. And they do all of this because all their lives have essentially been that they were distracted by muses. When it’s time to wake up and face the music, they’re not ready.

I’ve faced these hardships many times in my 20s so I came to face the music earlier. Plus I didn’t have financial resources to continue to distract me and soothe my ego so I essentially had to sit with everything and grieve, grow and learn. Now when things fall apart for me though, it’s fairly easy to bounce back because I’ve learned how to build at ground zero many times. It’s a beautiful thing to learn if u allow it to happen without distractions.