Identity crisis: what is it, characteristics and how is it treated in therapy?

Let's take a look at what it is to suffer an identity crisis and how it influences mental health.

Ask yourself the following question in a conscious and reflective way: "what am I here for?".

Clearly, the answer is not easy; in fact, it is quite likely that you will ask yourself more questions. You may even have begun to wonder a bit about the meaning of your own existence.

Searching for answers to these kinds of questions may have left you feeling a little sick. That's normal. The emotions you've been feeling are what people feel when they're immersed in an people who are in the midst of an identity crisis feel.. Let's see what they consist of.

What is an identity crisis?

We can describe identity crises as thought patterns and other cognitive processes focused on the meaning of one's own existence, both past and future, marked by a significant level of emotional distress and uncertainty.The period is marked by a significant level of emotional discomfort and uncertainty. It is a period in which the person has many doubts about himself, accompanied by feelings of emptiness and loneliness and various questions such as why he is in this world, who he really is and what is his life purpose.

We usually associate these crises with adolescence, a time of profound changes and uncertainty related to the individual's personality and roles, which are not yet well defined, nor is there any guarantee of what his future will be like. The adolescent has questions about his sexual orientation, about who he should relate to in high school, what to study in the future, what job he wants to have as an adult....

Although they are very frequent in adolescence, identity crises are not exclusive to this period.. We will all experience some of these crises at various times in our lives, especially in periods marked by major changes such as, for example, a new job, having a child, losing a family member or moving. In fact, identity crises are synonymous with evolutionary crises, typical of changing life stages according to models such as those of Erich Fromm or Erik Homburger Erikson.

Usually, these crises tend to be transitory. The subject tries different ways to move forward, resolving this internal conflict and putting an end to his identity crisis.. However, in some cases they can last too long, giving way to an emotional imbalance so great that it negatively affects the psychological health of the individual. A person in a long and deep identity crisis may develop mood problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders.

A diagnostic concept?

Identity crises often occur at times of great change and high emotional stress, such as adolescence, after a breakup or a break-up.such as adolescence, after a breakup or job loss. It is a process full of uncertainty and fear but, in itself, it is not a psychological problem, much less a disorder. As we said, we will all experience identity crises at some point and, in most cases, we will be able to cope with them. However, it can sometimes lead to mental health problems if they last too long or are not resolved.

The expression "identity crisis" is a rather colloquial, "street" concept. It is a term often mentioned by patients or psychologists to make themselves understood, referring in fact to those periods in which there is a strong life crisis, full of great uncertainty and not really knowing where it is going to end. They are moments of deep anxiety, but they can also be full of opportunities and progress.

Identity crises occur in transcendental moments of life, moments of change in which we do not know exactly what is going to happen, although this is not necessarily a bad thing or a synonym of any pathology. They are situations in which there is a rethinking of vital issues, there being a crisis that can be based on either something a crisis that can start from something negative, such as a divorce or a health problem, or from something positive, such as a change of job, a new house or having a child.a new home or having a child.

These identity crises are not disorders or pathologies, but they can lead to one. If the person becomes obsessed with not knowing who he/she is exactly, not finding answers to his/her questions and feeling great anxiety and uncertainty because of it, he/she may develop health problems. Anxiety and depression are two emotional states that can appear if the identity crisis has not been satisfactorily resolved over time because the affected person feels great frustration at not being able to find out what their place in the world is.

Characteristics of an identity crisis

Identity crises are not a disorder. They lack diagnostic identity as such and we will not find them as a clinical category in either the DSM-5 or the ICD-11. They are not pathological, but if they are not resolved, they could lead to a mental health problem if the emotional imbalance associated with these questioning processes lasts too long. Likewise, we can find a series of "symptoms" suffered by people who are in an identity crisis.

The main aspect that we find in people in an identity crisis are thoughts about the meaning of their existence, which become very prominent throughout the day. The individual verbalizes them with phrases such as "I feel lost, meaningless" or "I don't know what to do with my life". These thoughts can be truly intrusiveThese thoughts can be truly intrusive, interrupting him or her while going about his or her business and causing great emotional distress.

The person tries to put an end to his or her restlessness by searching for an answer, but cannot easily find one, leaving him or her feeling lost and aimless. The discomfort interferes with his life, preventing him from doing other things such as going out with friends or practicing his hobbies, since he feels he must first answer the question "who am I?". He feels empty, lonely and out of place.

The pathological aspect of all this is in "hooking in," that is, the patient becomes obsessed with the thoughts and feelings associated with the identity crisis. associated with the identity crisis. If he/she gives them too much thought it can become counterproductive, and can derive in the typical obsession in a case of depression, especially if the crisis has lasted longer than it should and the affected person does not have the sensation that there is no progress or answers.

Treatment in psychotherapy

As we have mentioned before, identity crises are not a disorder and normality should not be pathologized. Everyone, throughout his existence, experiences at some point an identity crisis for whatever reason. It may be that we have lost our job, our partner has died or we have had a child, moments of crisis that involve making changes in our lives and rethinking who we are and what we are doing in this world.

However, since the symptoms can lead to psychological distress and, in the long run, affect our health, seeing a professional to treat an identity crisis is not a cause for embarrassment.. Everyone needs help on more than one occasion, and trying to play "strong" by going through a process as complex as an identity crisis without the support of our loved ones or a psychologist can be more bad than good.

Going to a psychologist is useful to acquire useful techniques and tools not only to overcome this complex period, but also for those that may come in the future as well as to better manage our emotions and expectations about who we are and who we want to become.

People who are going through a crisis of this type do not usually have very clear why they feel bad, so consulting a psychologist can help them to understand that what makes them feel this way are questions about who they are, questions that the psychotherapist can help them to answer.