Not only in adolescence can we experience an identity crisis, the reality is that all people throughout our lives can experience more than one identity crisis regardless of our age. Identity crises appear when we reach a point where we do not even know who we are and we ask ourselves questions over and over again about the meaning of our existence.
In this Psychology-Online article: Identity crisis: causes, symptoms and solutionwe are going to explain to you in detail everything about this very interesting topic.
The concept of identity crisis
Some of the most common questions we usually ask ourselves when we find ourselves in an identity crisis are the following: who am I really?What do I want or would like to achieve? Where am I going? etc.
The truth is that in some way, at some point in our lives, we are forced to face these crises because at each stage of our life we have to face different situations, whether in adolescence, with all the changes that occur on a physical level. and mental, adulthood and having to face new challenges such as looking for a job, in some cases divorce, facing the loss of loved ones, among other things. All this provokes us at the right moment emotional imbalancewhich if well managed can even help us grow more as people.
Symptoms of identity crisis
Below I am going to mention the most common symptoms of people who are going through an identity crisis. It must be taken into account that all these symptoms, as well as the intensity with which they are experienced, vary from one person to another.
- Having a feeling of being lost, as if without direction
- (existential void)
- Difficulty making decisions because you don’t know what you really want
- Anxiety
- Not knowing how to solve a problem since previous methods are no longer effective for your new situation
- emotional instability
- Have the feeling of not be prepared for the changes you are beginning to have
Identity crisis: causes
To know well the Identity crisis, its causes, symptoms and solution, it is important to know that a crisis does not last only 1 or 2 days, nor even a few weeks. When we find ourselves facing an identity crisis, it implies that we have been going through it for a certain period of time in which one or more of the symptoms mentioned above have been present. Regarding the main causes that cause a person to begin to experience an identity crisis, there are the following:
- Unexpected changes. When a person has to go through different changes in their life unexpectedly. For example, traversing a, be it some of the parents, a child, etc. A divorce, loss of employment, having to move to live in another country, among many other sudden changes that can appear momentarily in a person’s life.
- Adolescence stage. This stage is extremely prone to identity crises since it is a stage where the person experiences continuous and profound physical, psychological and mental changes. The adolescent, finding himself in an intermediate phase between being a child or an adult, has to develop a new identity and integrate into society, relying on his peer groups.
- Not knowing yourself well. When personal values are not clear and some unexpected situation occurs, such as having to make an important decision, we realize that we really did not know ourselves as much as we thought and we enter into conflict since we do not know what to do. It’s what we have to do. Knowing yourself also implies knowing our personal values since from them we can make decisions with greater clarity.
How to overcome an identity crisis
If you find yourself facing an identity crisis, regardless of your age, this series of tips can be of great help so that you can get ahead of this situation. Remember that overcoming an identity crisis is sometimes not an easy task and requires time, patience and even effort.
- Perceive your identity crisis as an opportunity. Stop focusing solely on the seemingly negative side of the crisis you are going through and improve your perspective about it. You have to be aware that crises are also opportunities to evolve, develop and continue growing as a person. Crises help us to know ourselves better, to realize that we have more capabilities than we think we have, they teach us to know new ways of acting and moving in life, among many other extremely positive things.
- Work on self-discovery. To move forward in the face of an identity crisis, it is essential that you start doing introspection exercises and gain more knowledge about yourself. To do this, you can continually reflect on what your values are in life, your beliefs, ideals, goals, etc. It could also help you a lot to receive the help of a professional who can guide you to achieve this.
- Increase your self-confidence. Learn to accept yourself unconditionally, recognize your worth and your potentials. Self-love and self-confidence are essential to be able to face any type of situation that causes us discomfort.
- Modify or set new goals. If the situation that has generated your identity crisis has caused you to lose direction or direction about what you want and desire in life, it is time for you to begin from there to reevaluate and modify your personal objectives. Don’t be afraid if you even have to set new goals that had nothing to do with the ones you had planned at the beginning, it’s about finding again those that give you more motivation and meaning in everything you do.
- Accept the changes. The worst thing you can do is resist new changes as that will cause you to become more and more stagnant. You have to have been presented to you and those that you have inside you since it is what will allow you to continue developing and increase your emotional well-being.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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