Identity Crisis

An Identity Crisis is a psychological crisis associated with unresolved tensions in ego identity.

• See: Identity Formation, Erikson's Stages of Psychosocial Development, Erik Erikson, Shadow Self.

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References

2016

• (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/identity_crisis Retrieved:2016-12-23.
  • In psychology, the term identity crisis (coined by psychologist Erik Erikson) means the failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence. The stage of psychosocial development in which identity crisis may occur is called the Identity Cohesion vs. Role Confusion. During this stage, adolescents are faced with physical growth, sexual maturity, and integrating ideas of themselves and about what others think of them. Adolescents therefore form their self-image and endure the task of resolving the crisis of their basic ego identity. Successful resolution of the crisis depends on one’s progress through previous developmental stages, centering on issues such as trust, autonomy, and initiative.

2016

• https://hbr.org/2016/12/make-peace-with-your-unlived-life
  • QUOTE: Similarly, Erik Erikson, another famous psychologist, introduced the idea of the identity crisis. Erikson, like Jung, suggests that identity formation has its dark and negative side. There are parts of us that are attractive but disturbing and therefore tend to be submerged. In the process of becoming an adult, we not only internalize what’s viewed as acceptable, we also internalize (be it only subliminally) parental and societal attitudes about undesirable qualities and characteristics. For many of us, these “undesirables” turn into “forbidden fruits”–things we are attracted to To feel more authentic, we may have to integrate these forbidden fruits into our sense of identity.

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