Navigating a Quarter Life Crisis
Understanding What It Is
A quarter-life crisis is when you’re feeling anxiety about the current trajectory of your life or even the quality of life in general day to day. You may experience trouble sleeping, anxiety, hopelessness, stress, and worry—many emotions erring on the negative side.
Things that indicate you are in it:
Having no clue what you want
Making comparisons to your friends and perceiving that they are succeeding and giant steps ahead of you at that
Feeling less connected to your formerly close friends or social network
Questioning your career for likely the first time (and sadly probably not the last)
Boredom with your current status
Navigating The Terrain
What works for one person may not work for the other, but the takeaway is that you are not alone.
Don’t Panic; This Is Normal
One more time for the people in the back—this is normal. In recent years, as many as 75% of people in their mid-late 20’s (up to early 30’s) reported that they experienced a quarter-life crisis. That’s the majority. Try to keep calm and avoid the panic button as much as possible. Anxiety will worsen the process, so accepting the process can help. Find ways to manage your stress and anxiety healthily, whether it be exercise, mindfulness, improved sleep, or time with your support people.
Find Your Happy
Part of the reason a quarter-life crisis occurs is unhappiness with a current career or state in life. Take a deep dive into your brain and discover what makes you happy. What do you want to be when you grow up? What do you want to achieve in the future? At age 20 something, you still have a lot of life left. There’s plenty of time to change your plan, change your mind, or even change your career. If it’s not work, try new hobbies and find something that excites you.
Revise Your Job Plans
When it comes to the job, know that it isn’t an expectation that you will stay at the same place of employment forever. If you feel stuck, know it is ok to change it up. If you aren’t finding joy or purpose, consider options that will.
Learn To Adult
This could be a fun adventure. You spend a lot of time in school or working, and while that is the natural course of life, you may have yet to learn all the necessary skills to be an adult. What you did learn is the workings of the internet. Use that to your advantage. Find resources on managing finances, renting an apartment, buying a home, cooking real adult meals, and what to do in an emergency (that doesn’t involve calling mom and dad). Knowledge is power!
The important thing to do here is breathe and remember that this is manageable. Give yourself grace. If you’re struggling to navigate this alone, you don’t have to do it solo. Schedule a consult with us and see how we can help.