IDENTITY CRISIS: In search of Identity
Given below are some stages where identity crisis can occur and how can we cope with it.
Krishnakhi Baruah
The concept of Identity crisis was given by Erik Erikson who is a developmental psychologist. In the history of psychosocial stages, he mentioned about identity crisis teenagers go through and find difficult challenges to tackle new and different situations. People with identity crisis have certain questions about themselves as "Who am I?", "What is my role in society", and "Am I important?", "What are my values?". It is a sense of confusion about one's own identity and feeling insecure regarding it.
Actually, identity crisis happens in different stages of a person life-
- Beginning of a relationship
- Becoming a parent
- Losing a loved ones
- End of a relationship
- Experiencing a traumatic event
- Moving to a new place
Identity crisis may lead to depression which can give the feeling of hopelessness and worthless, fatigue. etc. Having mental health issues like bipolar disorders, personality disorders have the likelihood of experiencing Identity Crisis.
One can cope by the following:
- Exploring the self which helps to look inward and knowing about self and things one is passionate about
- Having good social support which can help to cope with a stressful situation
- It is important how one perceives themselves and ignoring all the judgments can help them to build their identity
- Seek help from mental health professionals when it is difficult to cope
