Identity Crisis In Adolescence

Identity Crisis In Adolescence 

Adolescence the gangling sub-rational age in which most of you passed and some of you will pass. To "some" of you this age is full of highs and lows, mistakes, failure but in turn rewards with a life long experience. This is the age where a half-grown ,unaccountably shy ,incredibly gawky, volatile and passionate homo-Sapiens starts asking the question Who Am I? well this ain't a philosophy or the third part of kung-fu panda. Here we will discuss the psychological aspect of the question and how it becomes the essential part of for knowingly unknown sub-conscious.

The Erik Erikson Classification of Psychological stages

Erikson maintained that personality develops in a predetermined order through eight stages of psychosocial development, from infancy to adulthood. During each stage, the person experiences a psychosocial crisis which could have a positive or negative outcome for personality development.

For Erikson (1958-1963), these crises are of a psychosocial nature because they involve psychological needs of the individual (i.e., psycho) conflicting with the needs of society (i.e., social).

According to the theory, successful completion of each stage results in a healthy personality and the acquisition of basic virtues. 

Basic virtues are characteristic strengths which the ego can use to resolve subsequent crises. 

Failure to successfully complete a stage can result in a reduced ability to complete further stages and therefore a more unhealthy personality and sense of self.

These stages, however, can be resolved successfully at a later time.

The 5th stage is Identity vs role confusion

Identity and crisis

The individual may be confused, insecure about the circumstances in life.  They need to identify the priorities in life (career, relationships, society) and set goals to achieve them as an adult. Adolescents going through the stage describe it as the years of discovery or finding themselves. During this period, many adolescents embrace change and identify a goal or a plan for the next stages of their lives. For some teens, this stage becomes a struggle, as they have difficulty understanding the changes their bodies are going through or have not achieved the sense of self-identity they need to move forward. This is known as an identity crisis

ROLE CONFUSION-

When an individual remains unsure about their desires, beliefs and roles, they may be left with feelings of confusion or insecurities about themselves and the future. They may not be clear with what path to choose and what to avoid. These role confusions may continue even in adulthood. 

Here the question which i used to.... ask myself

Do I believe in God?

What are my talents? What am I good at?

Do I enjoy being alone more or being with others?

What subjects at school/college interest me the most?

How will I earn a living?

What’s my role as a human in the world? How will I contribute?(this one still revolves around)

In the uprising of virtual surrounding and internet, teens are starting to explore themselves. Getting to know about their orientation, their sexuality and much more. Sadly for some who are out of reach from  themselves due social stigma, remote environment  still feels that there is something wrong with them.

Conclusion-

God created us different but treat us equal and our indifferences are what  makes us unique and special. Our name is what we get from others but our identity is what  we make of ourselves .

Finding oneself is a necessity. If we don’t know ourselves if we don’t know our likes and dislikes if we don’t understand our thoughts and feelings, how can we understand those of the others and how can we expect others to understand us?