Features of age-related crises briefly. Age-related crises in psychology
Newborn crisis (biological crisis) – 0 – 2 months.
Infancy (2m. – 1 year).
Year 1 crisis.
Early childhood (1 year – 3 years).
Crisis 3 years.
Preschool age (3 years - 7 years).
Crisis 7 years.
Junior school age (7 years - 11 years).
Teenage crisis.
Adolescence (11 years -16 years).
Adolescence (16 years - 18 years).
Age-related crises are special, relatively short-term periods of ontogenesis (up to a year), characterized by sharp mental changes. Refer to the normative processes necessary for the normal progressive course of personal development (Erikson).
The shape and duration of these periods, as well as the severity of their occurrence, depend on individual characteristics, social and microsocial conditions. In developmental psychology, there is no consensus on crises, their place and role in mental development. Some psychologists believe that development should be harmonious and crisis-free. Crises are an abnormal, “painful” phenomenon, the result of improper upbringing. Another part of psychologists argues that the presence of crises in development is natural. Moreover, according to some ideas in developmental psychology, a child who has not truly experienced a crisis will not fully develop further. This topic was addressed by Bozovic, Polivanova, and Gail Sheehy.
Crises do not last long, a few months, and under unfavorable circumstances they can last up to a year or even two years. These are brief but turbulent stages. Significant developmental shifts; the child changes dramatically in many of his features. Development can take on a catastrophic character at this time. The crisis begins and ends imperceptibly, its boundaries are blurred and unclear. Exacerbation occurs in the middle of the period. For the people around the child, it is associated with a change in behavior, the appearance of “difficulty in education.” The child is out of the control of adults. Affective outbursts, whims, conflicts with loved ones. Schoolchildren's performance decreases, interest in classes weakens, academic performance decreases, and sometimes painful experiences and internal conflicts arise.
In a crisis, development takes on a negative character: what was formed at the previous stage disintegrates and disappears. But something new is also being created. New formations turn out to be unstable and in the next stable period they are transformed, absorbed by other new formations, dissolved in them, and thus die off.
D.B. Elkonin developed the ideas of L.S. Vygotsky about child development. “The child approaches each point in his development with a certain discrepancy between what he has learned from the system of person-person relations and what he has learned from the system of person-object relations. It is precisely the moments when this discrepancy takes on the greatest magnitude that are called crises, after which the development of the side that lagged behind in the previous period occurs. But each side prepares the development of the other.”
Newborn crisis. Associated with a sharp change in living conditions. The child goes from comfortable, familiar living conditions to difficult ones (new nutrition, breathing). Adaptation of the child to new living conditions.
Year 1 crisis. Associated with an increase in the child’s capabilities and the emergence of new needs. A surge of independence, the emergence of affective reactions. Affective outbursts as a reaction to misunderstanding on the part of adults. The main acquisition of the transition period is a kind of children's speech called L.S. Vygotsky autonomous. It differs significantly from adult speech in its sound form. Words become polysemantic and situational.
Crisis 3 years. The border between early and preschool age is one of the most difficult moments in a child’s life. This is destruction, a revision of the old system of social relations, a crisis of identifying one’s “I,” according to D.B. Elkonin. The child, separating from adults, tries to establish new, deeper relationships with them. The emergence of the phenomenon “I myself,” according to Vygotsky, is a new formation of “external I myself.” “The child is trying to establish new forms of relationships with others - a crisis of social relations.”
L.S. Vygotsky describes 7 characteristics of a 3-year crisis. Negativism is a negative reaction not to the action itself, which he refuses to perform, but to the demand or request of an adult. The main motive for action is to do the opposite.
The motivation for the child’s behavior changes. At the age of 3, he first becomes able to act contrary to his immediate desire. The child’s behavior is determined not by this desire, but by the relationship with another, adult person. The motive for behavior is already outside the situation given to the child. Stubbornness. This is the reaction of a child who insists on something not because he really wants it, but because he himself told adults about it and demands that his opinion be taken into account. Obstinacy. It is directed not against a specific adult, but against the entire system of relationships that developed in early childhood, against the norms of upbringing accepted in the family.
The tendency towards independence is clearly manifested: the child wants to do everything and decide for himself. In principle, this is a positive phenomenon, but during a crisis, an exaggerated tendency towards independence leads to self-will; it is often inadequate to the child’s capabilities and causes additional conflicts with adults.
For some children, conflicts with their parents become regular; they seem to be constantly at war with adults. In these cases they talk about protest-rebellion. In a family with an only child, despotism may appear. If there are several children in a family, jealousy usually arises instead of despotism: the same tendency towards power here acts as a source of a jealous, intolerant attitude towards other children who have almost no rights in the family, from the point of view of the young despot.
Depreciation. A 3-year-old child may begin to swear (old rules of behavior are devalued), throw away or even break a favorite toy offered at the wrong time (old attachments to things are devalued), etc. The child's attitude towards other people and towards himself changes. He is psychologically separated from close adults.
The crisis of 3 years is associated with the awareness of oneself as an active subject in the world of objects; for the first time the child can act contrary to his desires.
Crisis 7 years. It may begin at age 7, or may progress to age 6 or 8. Discovering the meaning of a new social position - the position of a schoolchild associated with the performance of academic work highly valued by adults. The formation of an appropriate internal position radically changes his self-awareness. According to L.I. Bozovic is the period of the birth of socialism. "I" of the child. A change in self-awareness leads to a reassessment of values. Profound changes occur in terms of experiences—stable affective complexes. It appears that L.S. Vygotsky calls it generalization of experiences. A chain of failures or successes (in school, in general communication), each time experienced approximately equally by the child, leads to the formation of a stable affective complex - feelings of inferiority, humiliation, wounded pride or a sense of self-worth, competence, exclusivity. Thanks to the generalization of experiences, a logic of feelings appears. Experiences acquire a new meaning, connections are established between them, and a struggle between experiences becomes possible.
This leads to the emergence of the child's inner life. The beginning of differentiation of the child's external and internal life is associated with a change in the structure of his behavior. A semantic orienting basis for the action appears - a link between the desire to do something and the unfolding actions. This is an intellectual moment that allows a more or less adequate assessment of a future action from the point of view of its results and more distant consequences. Meaningful orientation in one’s own actions becomes an important aspect of inner life. At the same time, it eliminates the impulsiveness and spontaneity of the child’s behavior. Thanks to this mechanism, children's spontaneity is lost; the child thinks before acting, begins to hide his experiences and hesitations, and tries not to show others that he feels bad.
A pure crisis manifestation of the differentiation between the external and internal life of children usually becomes antics, mannerisms, and artificial tension in behavior. These external characteristics, as well as the tendency to whims, affective reactions, and conflicts, begin to disappear when the child emerges from the crisis and enters a new age.
New formation – arbitrariness and awareness of mental processes and their intellectualization.
Puberty crisis (from 11 to 15 years) associated with the restructuring of the child’s body – puberty. The activation and complex interaction of growth hormones and sex hormones causes intensive physical and physiological development. Secondary sexual characteristics appear. Adolescence is sometimes called a protracted crisis. Due to rapid development, difficulties arise in the functioning of the heart, lungs, and blood supply to the brain. In adolescence, the emotional background becomes uneven and unstable.
Emotional instability increases the sexual arousal that accompanies the process of puberty.
Gender identification reaches a new, higher level. An orientation towards models of masculinity and femininity is clearly manifested in behavior and the manifestation of personal qualities.
Thanks to the rapid growth and restructuring of the body in adolescence, interest in one's appearance sharply increases. A new image of the physical “I” is formed. Because of its hypertrophied importance, the child acutely experiences all the flaws in appearance, real and imaginary.
The image of the physical “I” and self-awareness in general is influenced by the pace of puberty. Children with late maturation are at the least advantageous position; acceleration creates more favorable opportunities for personal development.
A feeling of adulthood appears - a feeling of being an adult, a central neoplasm of early adolescence. A passionate desire arises, if not to be, then at least to appear and be considered an adult. Defending his new rights, the teenager protects many areas of his life from the control of his parents and often comes into conflict with them. In addition to the desire for emancipation, the teenager has a strong need to communicate with peers. Intimate and personal communication becomes the leading activity during this period. Teenage friendships and association in informal groups appear. Bright, but usually alternating hobbies also arise.
Crisis of 17 years (from 15 to 17 years). It appears exactly at the turn of the usual school and new adult life. May shift by 15 years. At this time, the child finds himself on the threshold of real adult life.
Most 17-year-old schoolchildren are focused on continuing their education, a few are focused on finding a job. The value of education is a great benefit, but at the same time, achieving the set goal is difficult, and at the end of 11th grade, emotional stress can increase sharply.
Those who have been going through a crisis for 17 years are characterized by various fears. Responsibility to yourself and your family for your choice and real achievements at this time is already a big burden. Added to this is the fear of a new life, of the possibility of making a mistake, of failure when entering a university, and, for young men, of the army. High anxiety and, against this background, pronounced fear can lead to neurotic reactions, such as fever before final or entrance exams, headaches, etc. An exacerbation of gastritis, neurodermatitis or other chronic disease may begin.
A sharp change in lifestyle, inclusion in new types of activities, communication with new people cause significant tension. A new life situation requires adaptation to it. Mainly two factors help to adapt: family support and self-confidence and a sense of competence.
Focus on the future. Period of personality stabilization. At this time, a system of stable views on the world and one’s place in it—a worldview—is formed. The associated youthful maximalism in assessments and passion in defending one’s point of view are known. The central new formation of the period is self-determination, professional and personal.
Crisis 30 years. Around the age of 30, sometimes a little later, most people experience a crisis. It is expressed in a change in ideas about one’s life, sometimes in a complete loss of interest in what was previously the main thing in it, in some cases even in the destruction of the previous way of life.
Crisis 30 years arises due to the unrealization of life plans. If at the same time there is a “reassessment of values” and a “revision of one’s own Personality,” then we are talking about the fact that the life plan turned out to be wrong in general. If the life path is chosen correctly, then attachment “to a certain Activity, a certain way of life, certain values and orientations” does not limit, but, on the contrary, develops his Personality.
The crisis of 30 years is often called a crisis of the meaning of life. It is with this period that the search for the meaning of existence is usually associated. This search, like the entire crisis as a whole, marks the transition from youth to maturity.
The problem of meaning in all its variants, from particular to global - the meaning of life - arises when the goal does not correspond to the motive, when its achievement does not lead to the achievement of the object of need, i.e. when the goal was set incorrectly. If we are talking about the meaning of life, then the general life goal turned out to be erroneous, i.e. life plan.
Some people in adulthood experience another, “unplanned” crisis, not confined to the border of two stable periods of life, but arising within a given period. This is the so-called crisis of 40 years. It's like a repeat of the crisis of 30 years. It occurs when the crisis of 30 years has not led to a proper solution to existential problems.
A person acutely experiences dissatisfaction with his life, a discrepancy between life plans and their implementation. A.V. Tolstykh notes that added to this is a change in attitude on the part of work colleagues: the time when one could be considered “promising”, “promising” is passing, and the person feels the need to “pay bills”.
In addition to problems associated with professional activity, the crisis of 40 years is often caused by the aggravation of family relationships. The loss of some close people, the loss of a very important common aspect of the life of the spouses - direct participation in the lives of children, daily care for them - contributes to the final understanding of the nature of the marital relationship. And if, apart from the children of the spouses, nothing significant binds them both, the family may fall apart.
In the event of a crisis at the age of 40, a person has to once again rebuild his life plan and develop a largely new “I-concept”. Serious changes in life may be associated with this crisis, including changing professions and starting a new family.
Retirement crisis. First of all, the disruption of the usual regime and way of life has a negative impact, often combined with an acute sense of contradiction between the remaining ability to work, the opportunity to be useful and their lack of demand. A person finds himself, as it were, “thrown to the sidelines” of a current life without his active participation. A decrease in one’s social status and loss of the rhythm of life that has been preserved for decades sometimes lead to a sharp deterioration in the general physical and mental condition, and in some cases even to a relatively quick death.
The retirement crisis is often aggravated by the fact that around this time the second generation—the grandchildren—grows up and begins to live an independent life, which is especially painful for women who devote themselves mainly to their families.
Retirement, which often coincides with the acceleration of biological aging, is often associated with a worsening financial situation and sometimes a more secluded lifestyle. In addition, the crisis may be complicated by the death of a spouse or the loss of some close friends.
age-related crises are an ordinary and at the same time mysterious phenomenon, which everyone has heard about more than once. Thus, the notorious “midlife crisis” inevitably comes up in the conversations of older people, and the “quarter-life crisis” has become a real plague of modern 20-year-olds. It is important to understand that psychological problems associated with a certain age are not at all far-fetched: we all face them one way or another. When you find yourself in a situation of a life crisis, the main thing is to remember that you are not the first to experience it. Most age-related crises can be dealt with, eventually turning them into a productive period of life. With the help of psychotherapist Olga Miloradova, we figure out what existential crises we are destined to go through, why they arise and how to survive them.
Dasha Tatarkova
Teenage crisis
Any age associated with a particular crisis is, of course, very conditional. Thus, one of the brightest and most difficult stages of our growing up occurs at the age of 14–19. This time is associated with various psychological, physiological and social changes that greatly change a person. Puberty is a major upheaval that turns a teenager's every day into a rollercoaster of emotions. What is important is that it is at this moment that people first have to think about what awaits them in the near future, when they will formally be considered “adults.” Anyone knows firsthand how difficult it is to decide at 16, 17, 18 years old what you will do for the rest of your life and what you will work tirelessly for during your university years.
Today's teenagers spend most of their time in the school system. The regimented nature of life makes the need to make a supposedly fateful decision especially difficult. Incredible social pressure doesn’t help either: at school teachers intimidate with final exams, at home parents scare with entrance exams. And only a few adults think to ask what the teenager himself thinks and wants, whose future is at stake. Such psychological pressure can lead to a sad outcome: for example, in South Korea it is believed that only graduates of the country’s three most prestigious universities have prospects. Therefore, local teenagers, in an effort to enter the desired university, drive themselves to complete exhaustion both at school and in additional courses. This burden, in turn, leads to an unprecedented number of suicides among young people.
Teenagers are not allowed to take a sober look at their desires and abilities due to their overwhelming emotions and heightened perception of the world. Otherwise, any 17-year-old would quickly realize that at his age it's normal to not know what exactly you want. It is teenagers who most often give up hobbies that were invented and imposed on them by their parents in childhood. Giving up the old and looking for the new is a natural process. American teenagers have long figured out a way to survive this moment wisely: many decide to take a so-called gap year after graduating from school, that is, a break between studies in order to travel, work and generally take a closer look at life outside the usual system and better understand themselves. This method does not promise divine revelations, but it does help you look at the world from a new angle.
The desire for independence is a natural desire of a teenager, which should be encouraged within reasonable limits.
An identity crisis isn't just about trying to figure out who you "want to be when you grow up." It is much more important that it is at this moment that an assessment of one’s personality is formed. Girls often face difficulties when it comes to accepting their changing bodies. Cultural pressure doesn't make it any easier when Victoria's Secret models are on every billboard and you have to have your braces tightened once a month. Exploring one's own sexual orientation still leads to a huge number of tragedies due to the fact that those around them (both peers and older people) do not always accept homosexual teenagers. It’s also hard for transsexual teenagers, for whom puberty in someone else’s body can result in severe psychological trauma.
At the same time, social identification occurs - the search for oneself in the context of the surrounding society. Dealing with all this is sometimes difficult without a psychologist, coach or even a psychoanalyst, but you need to start with yourself, no matter what role you are in. A loving family, ready to accept their growing child, and not just control and rein in, is the key to successful growing up, even taking into account teenage rebellion and alienation. The desire for independence is a natural desire of a teenager, which should be reasonably encouraged, without creating obstacles, but allowing him to openly demonstrate his emotions and desires. Growing up is a ticket to a very, very long train, so there is no point in rushing and getting angry that it doesn't happen all at once.
Olga Miloradova
psychotherapist
The main crises that psychologists identify in a person’s life are the crises of childhood. Newborn crisis, early childhood, preschool age, school puberty and so on. If we talk about a crisis in a more or less adult person, then in principle he does not have a clear attachment to age - rather to events. If children's crises are an almost complete collapse of the old system and the assembly of a new one, then adults are always a choice. Conflict of contradictions: go with the flow or change everything completely, be like everyone else or go towards your goal against the rules. Since we are talking about the point of choice, it seems to me that most Russian teenagers immediately enter a university, so experiences and the moment of crisis most likely precede the moment of choice. When the choice has already been made and the change in conditions has been successful, then, in general, there is no choice: now we need to adapt.
Quarter life crisis
Have you graduated from university and don't know what to do with yourself? Have you managed to work at 2-3 different jobs, but can’t find a place for yourself? Friends get married, divorced, have children, and you don’t feel ready for such changes? Congratulations, you are not alone in your problem - you are simply having a quarter-life crisis. For a more poetic and detailed definition of this period of life, you can turn to pop culture, which regularly comprehends the psychological problems of those under thirty: this is what the heroines of the TV series “Girls” and “Broad City” or Greta Gerwig’s characters in the films “Sweet Frances” and "Miss America"
In recent decades, there has been a marked shift in the socially acceptable timing of entry into independent adulthood. Many factors came together: along with the increase in life expectancy, the situation on the labor market gradually changed. Financial crises and a change in priorities from loyalty to one company throughout life to personal growth and frequent job changes have led to the fact that the revision of one’s achievements and disorientation, known as the “thirty-year crisis,” has shifted to the conditional twenty-five for many. By this age, many have already managed to try different relationships and professions, but are still not ready to settle on one thing and are just beginning to decide on their aspirations, feelings and interests. Twenty-five is a rough age: in fact, most people who feel lonely, lost, and astray are approaching their thirties.
Parents of modern 30-year-olds tried to provide them with the most comfortable life possible. Many “children”, having gotten used to this, do not want to live on their own: Richard Linklater noticed this in his film “Slacker” back in 1991. Unlike their parents, today's 30-year-olds do not strive to have children as quickly as possible and do not prioritize career stability. At the same time, global social moods do not keep pace with their view of the world, and the experiences of fathers and mothers inspire additional uncertainty in their choices and provoke feelings of guilt. Because of their “reluctance to grow up,” millennials have even been nicknamed the Peter Pan generation.
For all this there is also one that appeared in the era of social networks. We invariably feel like we are doing something wrong because, according to the myth created by Facebook and Instagram, we are the only ones who have problems - not our friends or colleagues. When the fear of being less successful and interesting than your friends does not go away, remind yourself that any person’s social network account is just a squeeze of the best of the best, a social construct created by the effort of thought. Try to focus on what you want and can achieve here and now, and start executing the plan.
Popular advice on how to overcome and even accept the state of uncertainty that characterizes a quarter-life crisis most often relies on Zen practices. Firstly, it is useful to make lists, but do not grab a hundred things at once, but take on the tasks gradually, doing a little every day. You need to accept that mistakes are inevitable - and not be afraid of them. It is important to finally honestly admit to yourself what you are interested in and what hobbies you really like, and are not imposed on you by family or friends. The main advice, especially useful in light of what was said above about social networks, is to learn not to compare yourself to others. Society is gradually beginning to realize that the only way up is not the only possible one and certainly not the best, so it’s time to find something comfortable for everyone individually. Along the way he will always help you with what is happening. A quarter-life crisis is actually useful; it helps you break out of imposed expectations, put your life in order and rebuild it to your taste.
Olga Miloradova
psychotherapist
A crisis is not inherently destructive - it provides an opportunity for personal growth. Due to the shift in adulthood, the framework has also shifted. Some people just graduated from university at twenty-five, while others at thirty already have 5–7 years of their career behind them and begin to reassess their achievements. Another scenario: your career is moving, but your personal life is not; or exactly the opposite - there is a child, but not a year of career. A crisis is a feeling of either complete impasse or prolonged stagnation. After university, it can occur if, for example, a person studied not for himself, but for the sake of the “crust”, moms and dads, and he himself dreamed of something completely different. When you realize that your time was not at all what you always dreamed of, then new things begin to seem important and life is restructured to suit new ideals.
Middle age crisis
If the previous type of crisis was associated, in fact, with fear for one’s future, then this one is entirely tied to the past. A midlife crisis means that one day you wake up and an uninvited horror hits you: everything that you have achieved so far seems to lose all meaning. Work, home, partner, children - everything seems dull and meaningless: the work on which you have spent your whole life does not bring pleasure, love and infatuation seem distant, and children are most likely so busy with their own affairs that they hardly pay attention to you . It is in connection with this stage that it is customary to remember clichés such as buying expensive cars, alcohol abuse, craving for affairs with younger partners on the side, inevitable divorce and all sorts of attempts to touch the bygone youth. We have seen such stories more than once in “American Beauty,” “Greenberg,” “The Big Disappointment,” Apatov’s “Adult Love,” or the new “While We’re Young.”
The term “midlife crisis” was coined by Canadian psychoanalyst Elliot Jacques. With it, he designated a transitional period of life, covering the time somewhere between 40 and 60 years, when life loses its colors and a rethinking of everything that happened before begins. The famous psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, who developed the theory of personality development, described the last two stages of human life (maturity and old age or stagnation and despair) very similar to the general provisions of a midlife crisis. In particular, Erickson briefly characterized this stage of life with two questions: “How can I make sure that my life is not wasted” and “How can I understand that it is okay to be myself?”
Despite the fact that the concept of a midlife crisis is firmly established in modern culture (there is a theory that Bond is the result of such a period in the life of Ian Fleming), it is no easier to describe it unambiguously than all of the above crises. It manifests itself differently in different people and hits them at different ages, becoming a positive experience for some, and the beginning of severe depression for others. Financial situation, personal life and other sociocultural factors greatly influence whether a person will experience a midlife crisis or not.
However, there are also constant variables: a midlife crisis is characterized by a pressing feeling of disappointment, as well as an awareness of human mortality. During this period of life, many experience the death of close relatives, such as parents. Such a loss is not only a grief that is difficult to cope with: it also makes you think about the inevitability of your death and provokes existential fear. At this same age, for many, the end of their career comes, or at least restrictions on the conditions or duration of work appear. Age makes itself felt at the physiological level: mobility decreases, and women experience menopause, associated not only with strong hormonal, but also psychological changes. Contrary to popular belief, the male body also experiences changes, the so-called andropause, when testosterone in the blood decreases.
Psychologists note that all of the above symptoms cause stress, but do not necessarily lead to a state of crisis. Even when they overlap, a person does not necessarily end up in deep depression. A midlife crisis is, first of all, a time of reflection and rethinking of life. The fact that it most often overtakes those over forty does not mean that it will not happen to you later or earlier, all other things being equal.
With a midlife crisis (like any other), it is important not to miss the moment when it turns into clinical depression. In this case, you must definitely seek professional help. In all other cases, practical advice for overcoming psychological problems can be briefly described as “don’t be afraid of change and don’t panic.” Exercise will not only help you feel as active as before, but it will also naturally improve your mood. The most difficult and most rewarding thing is to accept change, try to channel the fear of parental mistakes into a productive direction and improve relationships with children. As captainish as it may sound, finding new, non-destructive hobbies can really help ease existential dread. Aging, like growing up, is an inevitable part of life, and you need to accept it and work with what you have.
Olga Miloradova
psychotherapist
If most of the crises that were previously discussed are not so much crises (despite their names), but rather productive periods of change and growth, then by midlife crisis they really mean a crisis in the psychological sense. It is expressed in unproductive depression, devaluation and denial of everything achieved. This condition can be caused by routine, thoughts of death, and empty nest syndrome. A nihilistic position appears: everything is bad simply because it is bad.
A classic example: faced with the death of a loved one and feeling animal horror, many seek consolation in religion and, it would seem, find it. In fact, the majority find themselves a cozy home, hiding from several existential realities that everyone sooner or later faces and which must be accepted - we are talking about mortality and loneliness. In essence, a person remains in an unresolved conflict, frantically grasping at the fact that there is life after death. As a result, there is no growth, no acceptance, no next step. Therefore, the main rule that you need to follow no matter what life crisis finds you: you can’t bury your head in the sand - you need to try to process the revelation that has overtaken you into something productive.
