The existential crisis.

Abstract

Existential crises are confusing and high-anxiety times when a person is trying to resolve and find the answer to this question: Who am I? The existential crisis concept is derived from Erikson (1970), who referred to it as an identity crisis. This article describes different versions of existential crises and also outlines ways to resolve them. One type of an existential crisis that is likely to occur early in life begins as a teenager or a young adult and is referred to as the sophomore crisis. The sophomore crisis deals with identity issues about the future. The adult version of an existential crisis usually begins in the mid to late 20s. The adult existential crisis also seeks resolutions to identity issues, but the issues are more complex. Later versions of existential crises deal with questions regarding mortality, legacy, and achievement. In short, an existential crisis may be different for people at different stages of development and different age groups. Existential issues exist within a society as well; an existential crisis is an internalized by-product of societal problems. If several people within a society do not solve their existential crisis, there can be societal implications. The proposed solutions to solving existential crises therefore depend on multiple factors. The first solution is to match a person to a career. Another solution is to match one person to another. The third solution is behavioral training on social perspective taking.