I’m about to turn 65 and thats definitely the way life has gone for me.  I was a late bloomer with low self esteem so my teenage years were horrible.  Felt like a loser and that things would never get better.  Started blooming when I went away to college and made a lot of friends which made me feel better about myself.  Life was so much better during these years.  Things went well until I was hit with biochemical depression and anxiety in my late forties.  It was triggered by a very traumatic event.  Spiraled down for about 5 years of pain before I sought treatment.  I do need help from an antidepressant but it gave me my life back.  I am in excellent health for my age and got remarried last year.  Just when things look so bleak, they have a way of turning around.