# Quarter-life crisis



## dax (Nov 19, 2004)

Has anyone ever felt like they went through something like this or could be going through it now? I think it applies more to college graduates in their mid 20s to early 30s. Here is the definition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quarter_life_crisis

At first when I read about it I thought it was just nonsense but being in this age group I can actually relate to a lot of the characteristics of someone going through a "quarter-life crisis" such as


realizing that the pursuits of one's peers are useless
confronting their own mortality
watching time slowly take its toll on their parents, only to realize they are next
insecurity regarding the fact that their actions are meaningless
insecurity concerning ability to love themselves, let alone another person
re-evaluation of close interpersonal relationships
lack of friendships or romantic relationships, sexual frustration, and involuntary celibacy
disappointment with one's job
nostalgia for university, college, high school or elementary school life
loss of closeness to high school and college friends
financially-rooted stress (overwhelming college loans, unanticipatedly high cost of living, etc.)
loneliness, depression and suicide
desire to have children
a sense that everyone is, somehow, doing better than you
frustration with social skills
This description here really hit me:

As the emotional ups-and-downs of adolescence and college life subside, many affected by quarter-life crisis experience a "graying" of emotion. While emotional interactions may be intense in a high school or college environment - where everyone is roughly the same age and hormones are highly active - these interactions become subtler and more private in adult life

Anyone else relate to this?


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## Havalina (Dec 18, 2004)

Wow I have been claiming to be going through a "quarter-life crisis" for a good half a year. I didn't realize wikipedia already had such a designation haha (there must be such thing then!). I'm about to graduate university and pretty much that entire entry describes me. The idea of mortality and time running out has really hit me hard. As has the re-evaluation of close relationships (dumped my commonlaw partner of 4 years). Hmm I still think I should buy that 78' white mustang.


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

yes, I can relate. technically I'm a year away from being a quarter of a life old and yet I don't feel as if I'm progressing naturally and or that I'm at the level of development where I should be (holding down a job, having a network of friends, having self-sufficient skills like cooking and organizing so that later on I could have kids and raise them successfully). I think a lot of it has to do with depression and increasing lack of emphasis on doing social things that make it this way and of course, destructive attitudes. Honestly, I couldn't imagine what the rest of my life would be like if I lived the way I'm currently living now, it's scary to think I might not be living happy in the future based on how things are going now at my age.


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## Arisa1536 (Dec 8, 2009)

LaRibbon said:


> Good Lord. That entire list on wiki applies to me.


Same here, well most of them, not all
wow thats scary
i think i am going through a quarter life crisis as well


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## Pepperjack (Apr 5, 2010)

Pretty scary how much of that applies to me, too. Actually now that I think of it, my therapist once mentioned something like that to me but didn't go into detail. She didn't call the "quarter-life crisis" but she compared it to a mid-life crisis.


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## Rasputin_1 (Oct 27, 2008)

Yes except for the fact theres no way Im making 96. More like a Third-Life Crisis.


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## podizzle (Nov 11, 2003)

quarter life crisis is pretty pessimistic guys. the brain is incredibly flexible. Ive read that every pattern/addiction/habit can be completely reversed in 3 weeks. then we can spend the next quarter of our lives knowing we already had our crisis!


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## silvercobra101 (Mar 25, 2010)

Sounds a lot like me. In fact, I was going to post a question about this somewhere. 

And here I thought it was just me. Of course, I used to think that about social anxiety, too.


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## Johnny_Genome (Nov 11, 2003)

It's a time when reality slaps you in the face. And it hurts.


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## dax (Nov 19, 2004)

Johnny_Genome said:


> It's a time when reality slaps you in the face. And it hurts.


Werd.


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## Roscoe (Apr 21, 2009)

damn right it hurts


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## MisterJ25 (Nov 5, 2009)

Yeah, I have been aware of the quarter life crisis for a while now. I researched this and determined that this started for me a year or so back. I am seeing my parents and they are not happy. I do not want to end up like them. I want to follow my own path, but I don't know what that is and I feel as though I am trapped in an alternate reality of constant failure. I can't even get a job where I work 40 hrs a week and I hate college but I don't know what else to do.


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## Steve123 (Sep 13, 2009)

12/15 here. One thing it doesn't mention that I'm dealing with is fear of becoming a failure as I leave school life and enter the "real world". I constantly worry about becoming homeless, starving to death etc. Not to mention the humiliation being a failure (especially in comparison with some of the people a grew up with).


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## bowlingpins (Oct 18, 2008)

I am going through this as well, never heard of quarter life crisis before. Makes sense though considering the transition people at this age experience, moving from school to the real world.


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## CeilingStarer (Dec 29, 2009)

Yep, I've been in one for a long time. My quarter-life crisis will probably turn into a mid-life crisis as I really can't see myself getting out of the hole.


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## plastics (Apr 11, 2010)

Oh ****. I almost started crying, because I been doing that for awhile now. I think about people I know growing older all the time. I think there are even more things that could added to the list though.


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## Ambivert (Jan 16, 2010)

Oh man, I seem like a prime candidate for that list. I hope I don't end up like this when I graduate, lol


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## xtina (Jan 3, 2010)

interesting...the other day i was actually thinking "if i feel like hell right now then i wonder what my mid-life crisis is going to be like..."


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## chris87 (Jul 13, 2008)

Wow, this is exactly how I feel! I didn't even realize there is a term for these feelings/issues.


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## Meli24R (Dec 9, 2008)

I feel like I've been going through a quarter-life crisis for the past 4 years.


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## Glanvillee (Apr 21, 2012)

*Quarterlife Crisis*

I have been through a quarterlife crisis - well am still at the tail end of it as I turn 28 - and I have written an e-book about it, hoping to support others going through the same turmoil and hell. Check out the link - on my website -elizabethglanville . com 
you can download it for $4.99.
I really hope it can be of some help to at least some people. Contact me at trialsofthetwenties [at] gmail.com
Elizabeth xx


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