Age crises - what is it?

What is a crisis?
What can cause a crisis?
Types of crisis conditions
The reaction of the human psyche to a stressful situation
Goals and objectives of crisis psychology

The science of crisis psychology (psychology of crisis states) owes its emergence to the enormous number of disasters that arise in our reality. These are epidemics, terrorist attacks, man-made disasters, military operations, accidents and other difficult situations. A person, one way or another, is involved in all these incidents as an initiator, victim or witness, and the psychology of crisis situations teaches him to cope with dangerous emotional consequences. Let's talk in more detail about this direction, its goals and objectives.

The essence of the age crisis

The crisis literally translates as “dividing the roads.” In Chinese, it is written in two characters, one meaning “danger” and the other meaning “opportunity”. In my opinion, this is the most concise and accurate interpretation. It is during crises, including age-related ones, that the active development of the personality occurs, or its “breakdown” if the outcome of the period is unsuccessful.

The term “age crisis” was introduced into use by the Russian psychologist L. S. Vygotsky. Each age has certain norms that psychologists focus on. They help monitor the normality of human development. These same norms of intellectual, emotional, psychophysical and personal development are called age-related development goals. The period of crisis is the period of fulfillment of these tasks, of intense psychophysiological changes.

Every person goes through age-related crises, but the form of expression, intensity and duration vary depending on the person’s socio-economic status, development conditions, and individual personal characteristics.

Despite this, there are still two points of view on the normativity/non-normativity of age-related crises:

Some psychologists (Freud, Vygotsky, Erikson) consider such transitions to be an integral part of development.
Other researchers (Rubinstein, Zaporozhets) consider them as a variant of individual deviations.

conclusions

Psychological crises are not just a necessity, but the most important, irreplaceable condition for the normal continuation of a person’s future life and his development. The main thing in any crisis is its outcome. Behind the negative traits of behavior during crisis periods of life is hidden the positive essence of crises, which consists in the transition to a new, qualitatively higher model of behavior. A crisis is both a driving force of development and a sharp leap in human development. Without changing his behavior, a person simply will not be able to continue further normal life and development. People grow and develop only through crises.

Major crises

In psychology, it is customary to distinguish the following age-related crises:

newborns (from birth to one month);
one year;
three years;
seven years old;
adolescence (11-12 years);
youth (17-18 years old);
youth (20-30 years old);
maturity (33-35 years);
middle-aged (45-55 years old);
late maturity (55-65);
early old age (66-75 years);
old age.

The newborn, three-year-old and teenage crises are considered major crises. They account for the restructuring of the relationship between the child and society. The remaining crises are minor. They are less noticeable in appearance and are characterized by an increase in independence and skills. However, at the time of any crisis, children are characterized by negativism, disobedience, and stubbornness.

In adult life, as we see, there are 4 crises:

The crisis of youth is accompanied by the formation and self-affirmation of a person in the main areas of life and relationships (work, family, love, friendship).
At the stage of maturity crisis, a person analyzes his successes, the consistency of plans and achievements. Over the next ten years, he consolidates or changes the result.
A midlife crisis is accompanied by an awareness of loss of strength, beauty, health, and an increase in distance from grown-up children. Often a person is overcome by depression, a feeling of fatigue from routine, sadness from the thought that nothing will be better.
Late maturity is accompanied by stabilization of the previous state and a gradual withdrawal from social and work activities.
At the stage of early old age, a person comprehends his life and either recognizes it as unique and inimitable, or understands that it was in vain.
At the stage of old age, a person rethinks his professional “I”, comes to terms with the inevitable deterioration of health and aging of the body, and gets rid of self-concern. This is the stage of actively accepting the natural end of life.

It is worth noting that childhood crises (the first six) have been studied much more than the crises of adulthood, middle age and old age. The latter are more often considered in the nature of the individual course, although they are also largely due to age-related changes.

Symptoms of the turning point

You can notice the beginning of the crisis by the characteristic symptoms that began to appear suddenly:

causeless feeling of anxiety, uncertainty;
need for solitude;
difficulties in communication;
loss of life goals;
panic when thinking about the future;
desire for destructive behavior;
aggressiveness, conflict.

The appearance of one symptom does not mean the beginning of a turning point. But the combination of signs and the corresponding age is a reason to take a closer look at your condition.

Phases of crisis

L. S. Vygotsky identified 3 phases of crisis: pre-critical, critical, post-critical.

The pre-critical phase is characterized by a contradiction that has arisen and is recognized by the person himself between the existing external conditions and his attitude towards these conditions. A person begins to see an image of a future that is more attractive to him, but does not yet see real ways to implement this scenario.
At the critical stage, the maximum tension in the contradiction arises and reaches its peak. First, a person tries to repeat the most general ideas about the ideal he saw. For example, teenagers easily pick up the habit of smoking or swearing, thinking that this makes them part of an adult, so desirable and new, the world that has opened up in perspective. Later, external and internal obstacles standing in the way of other components of the new world are realized. If it is more or less easy to get rid of external ones, then the awareness of the lack of internal resources pushes one to master a new activity (in the example of teenagers - choosing a profession, part-time work). In conclusion, the person compares how close he managed to get to the ideal he saw.
In the post-critical phase, the contradiction is resolved, the personality builds new harmonious relationships with the world. If the results of the previous reflection are satisfactory, then the person finally transforms the imaginary into the real, and the other into his own.

A turning point in men

If for women turning points are associated with the loss of beauty and attractiveness, for men they are tied to the feeling of physical strength and sexual activity. A man, accustomed to an active life, realizes that his youth has passed; he no longer arouses such interest among women. Relationships with my wife have long become familiar and routine; they no longer provide new emotions and impressions.

At the age of 40, many men start relationships with young lovers. The admiration of a young girl is a source of strengthening male self-esteem. But if a man has already begun to have health problems, he no longer feels complete, and the crisis becomes more complicated.

Men who have realized themselves in a career or hobby are able to get out of it safely - social success becomes a substitute for physical strength.

Features of overcoming the crisis

No one can save a person from going through a crisis. It is up to the individual to overcome all difficulties and find a new balance. But the crisis process can be controlled and directed. This is where outside help lies - to teach a person to manage his own crisis, to see and use opportunities, competently avoiding dangers (neurotization, addictions and other deviations).

A crisis is always a choice. A person understands exactly what task he faces, what exactly he cannot do with usual means, but he still has to choose new tools. Every crisis prompts a person to search for identity.

Of particular interest within the framework of personal development is E. Erikson’s theory of age-related crises, although the stages differ from those mentioned earlier. The author identified the following stages of age transitions and elections:

First year of life. The child’s future trust/distrust in the whole world depends on how satisfied the child’s needs are.
First experience of self-service. If parents help the child, are logical and consistent in their control, then the child develops autonomy. If parents show unstable or excessive control, then the child develops fears about control over his body and a feeling of shame.
Self-affirmation of a child (3-6 years old). If a child’s independence is supported, then he grows up with initiative. Otherwise - submissive and with a pronounced feeling of guilt.
School age. The child either develops a taste for activity (work), or loses interest in his own future, experiences a feeling of inferiority in relation to his own status and the means available to him.
Adolescent identity. His future professional and personal life depends on the success of a teenager’s assimilation of roles and the choice of a reference group.
The crisis of adulthood is accompanied by a search for intimacy with one person. If a person cannot successfully solve the problem of combining work and family, then he finds himself isolated and closed in on himself.
The midlife crisis is based on the problem of procreation and its preservation. A special interest is awakening in the education of the entire new generation and their children. A person is productive and active in all areas of life, otherwise interpersonal relationships gradually deteriorate.
The crisis of old age, the resolution of which depends on the assessment of the path traveled. If a person can bring all aspects of his life into one whole, then he will live his old age with dignity. If it is not possible to put together a whole picture, then the person experiences fear of death and the impossibility of starting over.

This is not the only concept and classification of age-related crises. There are many more, but all authors agree on one thing:

the crisis makes movement and development difficult;
at the same time, it creates opportunities and encourages the disclosure of the inner potential of the individual.

Each crisis ends with the formation of a specific neoplasm. Unsuccessful passage of a crisis is fraught with getting stuck at some stage, the development of a distorted neoplasm and (or) a compensatory mechanism.

In times of crisis, the destruction of the old way of life and the acquisition of a new one occurs only through revolution. That is why crises always turn a person’s inner world upside down. Thus, at the time of crisis and after its passing, changes occur in human consciousness and activity, and in relationships with the world.

The reaction of the human psyche to a stressful situation

You need to understand that negative sensations and experiences during periods of stress are natural reactions of the human body. They must manifest themselves so that a person can subsequently avoid health complications.

It is normal if a person is stressed:

is in an excited state, experiences chaos in thoughts and may demonstrate atypical behavior;
panics, is afraid, feels an irresistible desire to run away;
aggressive, furious, tense;
anxious, restless;
cries;
experiences envy, jealousy;
feels uncontrollable nervous trembling (tremor).

The level of stress does not depend on the cause. A broken leg or a sudden betrayal of a spouse will give the same reaction from the body, but the intensity of these reactions will be related to how significant the event is for a particular individual.

If stressful manifestations last for a long time, then a feeling of indifference comes, a person may feel a lack of strength, lose interest in what happened and, as a result, fall into apathy.

Help from a psychologist

When overcoming a crisis, the help of a psychologist is often needed. Psychological assistance is always individual in nature. That is, a specific case is analyzed, there cannot be general advice.

As a rule, psychocorrection is prescribed for children and consultations for adolescents and adults. In addition to conversations, art therapy and fairy tale therapy are used for children. Teenagers sometimes receive group psychotherapeutic help. Trainings are recommended for adults, group psychotherapy is recommended for older people. In some cases, family counseling is possible at every age.

People who endure the crisis more severely, and therefore need support more often, are:

with internal disharmony and elements of infantilism in behavior;
with accentuations of character;
not independent in decision making;
differing in external locus of control (blaming the environment for failures);
with the perception of the crisis as a dead end that interrupts life, and not as an opportunity for growth.

It is important to perceive a crisis as a difficult but surmountable situation that requires great responsibility and ensures personal development if it is successfully completed. The goal of going through a crisis is to learn to accept the new yourself from a position of positive thinking.

What is a turning point in life?

The course of the crisis can be strong, moderate or weak. If the turning point develops unfavorably, the individual faces negative consequences that significantly complicate life:

melancholy;
breakdown;
depression;
emergence of dependencies;
social maladjustment.

A person constantly feels dissatisfied: he is depressed, irritated for no apparent reason. Many are haunted by suicidal thoughts. In some cases, people cannot cope with a crisis without the help of a psychologist. That’s why it’s so important to pay attention to changes in your behavior and worldview.

Mental pain: localization through externalization

The founder of modern suicidology, Edwin Shneidman, said that mental pain is metapain, pain from the awareness of pain. In the inner world there are no partitions, there are no systems or organs - our entire inner world, our entire soul, hurts. It is impossible to hide, to hide, except by forcibly turning off consciousness, for example by getting drunk or committing suicide. Mental pain indicates very strong emotional stress, accumulated emotional experiences: horror, fear, anxiety, melancholy, despair - experiences that reach the level of affect and are manifested by this effect of pain. To make this unbearableness bearable, it is first very important to tell someone about your pain. Turn it into a story, a narrative. The sign is always limited.

Our inner world is always limitless. And when we talk about pain, the story itself localizes it, it ceases to be equal to the entire inner world . Once I can somehow designate pain, it becomes semantic, taken out, becomes a phenomenon of contact - which reduces unbearable tension.

There is no “big green pill” for suffering, there are tranquilizers that just numb the pain. Having designated pain, we write some line in the “text of experience” and, accordingly, we are faced with our attitude. If I begin to relate to the pain, the pain ceases to be me. If I start to reflect, the pain decreases.

Mental pain is two-faced - it is not only a signal of the limit of endurance, it is also a signal of what is being experienced. We do not perceive values that do not hurt as values. The side of mental pain associated with the experience of values leads us to a resource.

Personality development according to Erikson

According to Erikson's theory, personality development goes through 8 stages. In essence, this theory suggests that personality development continues throughout life.

The transition from one stage to another is associated with specific conflicts. Having resolved which, the person moves to another stage, and in fact - to a new life stage of his development. If the conflict is not resolved, then, as you yourself understand, the individual will get stuck at the stage and will not move on to the next stage of his development.

Relationship problems

The psychology of relationships marks turning points that affect the way lovers perceive each other. The most difficult stage a couple faces is the end of “romantic” love. The relationship turns into a calmer form, lovers begin to notice all each other’s shortcomings. This period begins 3 years after the start of the novel. Lovers often quarrel and do not want to seek a compromise. Many couples break up. The post-wedding stage and the birth of the first child are also difficult to experience.