Overcoming “Quarter Life Crisis”

Lisa Franchi January 14, 2015

Yes, you know there’s midlife crisis. What about “quarter life crisis”? It is a term used to refer to a group of symptoms experienced by some people in their twenties, which involved anxiety over the direction their life is heading to. Other symptoms include frustration, feeling as if you have no purpose, self-doubt and confusion, and overwhelming dissatisfaction in life. When left unchecked, these feelings can basically lead to depression – a serious mental health problem that affects a person’s quality of life, and cause suicidal behaviours.

Whether you feel like you are battling with quarter life crisis or not, it’s good to know how you can overcome it. Your twenties can be a great time for self-discovery and adventure. It’s a perfect time to experiment with many things and figure out what are the things you are really passionate about. But at the same time, these years in our life can be filled with stressful experiences, so finding ways to overcome ‘crisis’ is incredibly important.

So where do you start? The key step to overcoming the difficulties being in your twenties bring is to know your true self. Start by identifying your top three important values. Knowing your values gives you a better sense and clarity of where you want to be and what you want to be in life. It therefore makes the process of decision-making easier. At the same time, you will know that whatever you will do is aligned with the path you want to take.

Know where you’re heading to and enjoy the ride. Knowing what you really want in life is never easy. It may take you years sometimes. And that’s why the first step is to identify your values. When you narrow down your core values, you get a clearer picture of where you want to be. And once you have identified your target destination, don’t get too focused on it that you no longer enjoy the ride. Enjoy the process – the journey you have to go through. Don’t rush things. As they say – happiness is not a destination but a journey. Don’t be afraid to commit mistakes and fail. They are part of the journey. Remember that the things that take you to your destination make up a substantial part of your life.

Keep your work-life balance in check. It’s hard not to feel overwhelmed when you don’t observe balance in your work and personal life. Keeping balance means making sure that every aspect of your life gets enough attention. They include your health, work, social and personal relationships, and your relationship to yourself. When you are too focused on reaching your goal, say a job promotion, you might miss doing many things that give you joy and happiness – such as family time. Research has shown to us over again that it is the small positive experiences that we receive every day that actually bring us lasting joy and happiness.

Go on a mental detox. Are you mindful or “mind full”? All of us struggle with information overload on a daily basis. And sometimes, our mental clutter hinder us from realizing what is really important to us. Furthermore, it just stresses us out. So how do you de-clutter your mind? There are several mind-body exercises that can help you flush out the unnecessary thoughts that keep your mind drained. They include yoga, breathing exercise, visualization and the most popular and powerful – meditation.

Whilst being in your twenties can be so much fun and exciting, there’s no denial that it can be a lot of pressure too. But with these tips, you get better chances of surviving quarter life crisis, if not, not going through it anymore.