Everyone has been through one identity crisis throughout your life, or even several. These occur when changes cause us to ask questions in order to find ourselves.
What is an identity crisis and why does it arise?
An identity crisis is a process that all people go through at some point in their lives and that It consists of having doubts about one's person. Although it can be a stressful stage, it serves to find new answers about oneself, that is, to redefine oneself.
The identity crisis It may arise from some change you are experiencing in your life, Whether it is the loss of a loved one, a dismissal at work… These crises are usually identified at key moments such as adolescence, as we go through a period of changes that make you rethink many questions about yourself. However, something doesn't have to happen for you to rethink questions about yourself, your life and your future. Nor does it have to be at a specific time in your life, but rather can arise at any time.
Symptoms of identity crisis
Both the cause and the main symptom of the identity crisis can be the personal ignorancethat is, you do not recognize yourself, you are not clear about who you really are. This crisis is accompanied by unpleasant sensations that lead you to rethink questions about your life. Some of the symptoms typical of the identity crisis are:
- Empty.
- Emotional instability.
- Anxiety.
- Insecurities.
- Lack of motivation.
- Sadness.
- Problems making decisions.
- Difficulties in solving problems.
- Depression.
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The most common identity crises
As we have said, the most common identity crises occur at specific times such as adolescence, a period that everyone has gone through. This is why people may associate age more with identity crises than the actual reason that generates them. However, identity crises often occur due to the changes that may arise in our lives, the most common are:
- Adolescence. Everyone has gone through this stage, where many changes arise both in your personal life and in your environment, and physical changes also take place that make you rethink questions about yourself. During this period of time you are looking for who you are and what you want. It is the time to define yourself as a person and seek goals and ambitions in life. This crisis can be accompanied by sudden personality, physical or aesthetic changes.
- Sexual identityThis crisis can also occur at the same time as the adolescent crisis, a period in which you change from childhood to adulthood and experience great changes, but it can happen at other times in your life. The sexual identity crisis seeks to find answers related to your sexuality, that is, to find out what your preferences or tastes are in order to define your sexual identity.
- Crisis in adulthood. The most commonly called “midlife crisis” is a crisis that men and women experience when they reach middle age, or when they feel further away from their younger days and have not achieved certain goals in their life, or even when they feel overwhelmed by routine. This leads them to rethink new goals, new ways of defining themselves, new activities to feel better…
How to manage an identity crisis?
An identity crisis can generate fear and instability, since you are going through a process in which you doubt who you are and what you want to do. It is a moment in which you do not even recognize yourself, so The confidence and self-esteem that can make you cope better may be absentYou may not even know that you are going through a crisis, or what is happening to you.
At this time it is important that you find stimuli that help you define who you are. In these cases, the help of a psychologist professional will be the best solution to help you define yourself as a person.
The psychological therapy can help you identify what is causing your emotional instability or anxiety. Learning to recognize, accept and manage your emotions will be essential to answer the questions you have about yourself, and it will also help you to be able to recognize and manage other problems in the future.
You have to be aware that an identity crisis is not something that lasts one or two days, but rather it is a period of time in which you do not know how to define yourself and doubts arise that will take time to find an answer. That is why receiving help from a psychologist will be beneficial for you. find the right questions as quickly as possible and be able to process the answers. These answers may take some time to answer, as you need to be able to find the solution that makes you happiest.
Furthermore, the anguish, sadness or stress that an identity crisis can cause can make all these symptoms worse or affect you in such a way that they can cause more serious problems, such as depression. Putting yourself in the hands of a professional will make you work in a way that this does not happen or, if you are already depressed, you can work on managing and overcoming it.
In Psychia We have a great team of psychologists who can help you with this process. In addition, our online modality will make it more convenient for you to attend therapy, being able to connect from anywhere, without having to ask or waste time traveling or adjust schedules. And without losing the confidentiality and closeness of a therapy session with a psychology professional. Call and make your appointment to attend online therapy, more than 1,600 people have already contacted us. The first information session is free.