What does Quarter-Life Crisis mean?
A quarter-life crisis is a phase of uncertainty in which young people may experience stress and deep soul-searching as they begin a new chapter of life. The changes can be super overwhelming. Unfortunately, it’s not unconventional for those in their 20s or 30s to experience a quarter-life crisis. Luckily, there are ways to handle the heavy emotions surrounding this unpredictability time.
Quarter-Life Crisis Psychology:
The ordinary person who struggles with a quarter-life crisis can be driven and intelligent. Yet, changes can lead to a tedious state of void, resulting in unreliability, emotional pain and questioning yourself. In case of what caused your quarter-life crisis, this experience commonly includes four stages:
- Feeling trapped: A person may feel trapped or unsure about his choice in a job, a contract or a relationship.
- Separation: Many of those who get stuck in a quarter-life crisis may leave their friends, jobs or dating partners and might go through a long period of loneliness and separation.
- Reflection: The next stage is a time of thinking, rectifying and soul-searching when they search for what they want.
Understanding:
Most people can appear with a great understanding, never-ending motivation and a more positive outlook for their future at the end of a crisis.
The process can be excruciating, but the quarter-life crisis can be an enormous opportunity for growth and personal discovery.
Quarter-Life Crisis vs Midlife Crisis:
Although the midlife crisis is more recognised, it’s not more common nowadays. Young people can likely experience a life crisis as their middle-aged equivalents. While the underlying emotions are very similar, the significant difference lies in how others struggle through the problem. A midlife concern is more commonly accepted, while a quarter-life crisis is often brushed off or ignored.
As a culture, society expects young people to be happy and carefree. Therefore, most people view these years as fun and relatively easy, undermining the person experiencing a quarter-life crisis. However, a quarter-life crisis is real and should not be ignored.
Quarter-Life Crisis Symptoms:
A quarter-life crisis is far more normal than most people realise. Here are just a few symptoms that you may be going through:
- Lack of direction in your career, relationships or overall life purpose.
- Facing difficulties in making decisions.
- Struggling to figure out what’s missing.
- Lack of motivation.
- The feeling of fatigue, stress, anxiety or depression.
- Heavy tension between pursuing your dreams and settling down.
- You worry that your peers have everything figured out.
- Fear of getting left behind.
How to deal with a Quarter-Life Crisis?
If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms, trust me, you’re not alone in this. There is no such easy solution, but here are some most straightforward ways to ease the pain of your quarter-life crisis:
- Gain strength through unity by talking to friends about your experiences.
- Keep reminding yourself that your feelings are normal.
- Handle your frustrations through something else, such as learning a new skill, pursuing a hobby or working side by side.
- Don’t let yourself down by your degree. Feel free to follow something else for the future.
- Get Help for the Addiction if You Need It
A quarter-life crisis is a roller coaster of emotions in which you can face the challenge in healthy ways; others ignore it or deal with it using dangerous behaviours like binge drinking or taking drugs. This doesn’t seem right. It would help if you talked to a psychologist as soon as possible.
