I am going thru the exact same feelings, and we are about the same age as well. My anxiety and desperation has greatly increased in the past year, and I feel that it has to do with my (our) age and a feeling of regret that my life did not turn out like I had hoped it would. I'm stuck in a job that I have grown to hate and have 5 years to go to get a pension, so I have to figure out how I'm going to survive the next 5 years, and what changes I'm going to have to make to deal with my feelings, which, at the moment, are quiet desperation, made worse by friends being pre occupied with their own families and me not having family close by.

You know, here is a sense of what I've done that has made me feel better already. I've decided this a huge moment in my life and an exciting time to make some interesting and absolutely necessary changes in it. Here's the deal: It's time to reinvent yourself, and the best way to do that is to take risks. Step outside your comfort zone. Try something entirely new, and be excited about it. Know that if you fail, you learned something and will grow from it. If you like it, you build upon the experience and make it better, and deeper. And if you get nothing from it, then you know what you can cross off your list. I still think the beauty of life is what you discover when you are not even looking for it. Taking risks at this point in our lives is basically a necessity. Let's do this!