identity crisis

Who am I?

It's what happens to us when we pause what we're doing for a moment, and step outside of ourselves, and look at who we are.

It can be scary to see somebody different than you were expecting to see.

Or not see anybody at all.

An identity crisis can occur when we ground our identity in materialistic things or features, and discover that these fail to fully describe or capture the I. For example, beauty, appearance or style. It can also occur when we ground the individual in a belief system, and those beliefs change - for in the same way, these do not define a person, and when a person's beliefs change an identity crisis can occur. One is not merely a vegetarian or a conservatist.

Unfortunately, I don't yet know the antidote...

But it helps to remember that you are more than your beliefs, and that often an identity is indescribable.

1. Identity diffusion : During this stage, the person is not in any specific crisis. At this point, all of their identity issues are all jumbled together.



2. Moratorium : The actual identity crisis, focused on one single issue, (religion, politics, relationships, vocation, etc.) begins. For the time being, the other issues are set aside.


The last two stages are the two possible outcomes of the crisis:


3. Foreclosure : The adolescent decides to fall in line with what their parents want.



4. Identity Achievement : The individual decides on their own what they are going to do. Identity achievement can be attained if the adolescent decides to follow their parents' example by using their own individual free will. Essentially, using your own will and value system equals identity achievement.

Augusta Herald 18 July 1990