If you’re in your mid 20s-early 30s, you might recognise the feelings of insecurity, doubt and uncertainty associated with a quarter life crisis.
Generally, these feelings can become stirred up when a job isn’t going quite as expected, or we start to question the direction of a relationship. Sometimes, a long term friendship may have ended or become difficult. In fact, relationships in general might feel trickier than normal.
Contentment vs comparison
Suddenly it all conspires to overwhelm you, and you start to wonder where you are going in life after all.
Previous contentment goes out the window, leaving in its place an uneasy comparison which makes us feel everyone seems more together, and has it more worked out, than we do.
Career, or baby
For women, it can feel particularly pronounced, as we experience value conflicts around working and having a baby one day.
A few tips to help yourself:
- Talk to others in the same boat, chances you are not alone in feeling this way.
- Remind yourself it’s a stage, and it will pass.
- Consider it as a development of your identity, where you are getting to know what’s really important to you in life.
- Stop comparing yourself to others.
It can be helpful to work out if this is what is going on for you, or whether it’s a little more complex, like a bout of anxiety or depression.
A counsellor can provide an objective point of view and help you to pinpoint what is really distressing you.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch 🙂
