Personal crises are medium-term (from a week to a year), periodically occurring temporary personal illness without obvious external reasons, which is explained by the peculiarities of the internal dynamics of a personal development.
Personal ill health is a problematic state of inability to develop in the same way. These are blocks on the path of development, the loss of development guidelines, a return to more primitive models of behavior, moments of personal degradation.
Personality crises are usually understood simultaneously as “psychological crises,” that is, not just blocks on the path of development, but also mental illness, mental problems of a person.
Crises in human life
The first, already an adult crisis, usually occurs on the threshold of adulthood, when youthful “recklessness” is behind, and the specter of personal responsibility for one’s own life rises. When there is a very real likelihood of making fateful decisions in terms of education, work and personal life.
Next comes the notorious “midlife crisis.” It is mainly affected by people who have reached 35-40 years old. This is the time for summing up the preliminary results of the life path, evaluating the experience gained, successes, failures and disappointments. But one cannot but take into account that at the same time this is a moment for planning a further path.
The next crisis is associated with the inevitable retirement. For professional military and police officers, it is 45 years, for civilians – 55-60. A pension is a change in your usual way of life and completely different money for survival, and the need to again look for your place in this difficult world.
Causes of psychological crises
In fact, there are more personality crises than those listed above. A state of crisis can arise with any changes in a person’s life. The reason may be: change of study or work, moving to another city or country, loss of a loved one, illness, etc.
There is also the concept of “existential crisis”. Its characteristics are a state of anxiety, a feeling of deep psychological discomfort, depression, which arise when asked about the meaning of one’s own existence on planet Earth. Existential crisis is most common in civilized cultures, where the basic needs for human survival have already been met. An existential crisis can also be a consequence of: chronic lack of sleep, loneliness, psychological trauma, depressive disorder, and the establishment of a fatal diagnosis.