Fire Safety Encyclopedia

Types of crises. Causes of crises: the role of personal and social factors. How to overcome a personality crisis

Personality crisis is a fairly common phenomenon lately. The article describes the factors of its appearance, varieties and methods of how to get rid of it.

The content of the article:

A personal crisis is a special state of mind caused by dissatisfaction with oneself, others, work and even the world in which a person lives. Such a mental phenomenon can appear at any age, at any time of the year and under any circumstances. Whatever the life situation, it is always extremely difficult, and in some cases there are even negative consequences that can only be eliminated professional psychologist.

Reasons for the appearance of a personality crisis


Most people at least once in their lives have come across the feeling that their existence has no meaning, and all actions are absolutely empty. This inner sensation has a profound effect on the psyche. And more often than not, it is quite difficult to determine the cause and understand how to overcome a personality crisis.

There are several key factors that can push you to such a difficult emotional state:

  • Dissatisfaction with yourself... A fairly common reason that every second person faces. The fact is that the mass media actively impose certain standards of appearance and level of wealth. In life, not everyone can achieve similar indicators.
  • Problems at work... A person may be the best worker, but his work goes unnoticed. Or, on the contrary, he realizes that his knowledge is outdated, his services are no longer needed, and age and fear no longer allow starting something new. The loss of a well-paid job will also affect the condition.
  • Self-perception... Usually middle-aged people face a crisis. This is due to the oppression of oneself by thoughts that most of my life has passed, that much has not yet been done from what I wanted, and time is inexorably running away.
  • Family problems... The departure of one of the couple to a new partner hurts not only self-esteem, but also forces the process of self-oppression to begin. After all, being in the role of the abandoned is very difficult.
  • Difficulties at school... Crises are often common in adolescence. It is especially pronounced in children who are "not like everyone else." They become outcasts, society does not accept them, and they still cannot or do not know how to realize themselves in other directions and with other people.
A crisis personal growth is able to develop into a state of deep emotional depression, from which it will simply not be possible to get out without the help of psychologists. It is extremely important for the family to notice the symptoms in a timely manner and to help the person cope with the situation.

The main symptoms of a personality crisis


The fact that a person has begun a crisis can be seen with the naked eye. Its features are:
  1. Emotional changes... Such people are extremely apathetic to everything that happens and do not express feelings. It is very difficult for them to make a smile or hear a sincere laugh.
  2. Detachment... The crisis of personal growth in people who are faced with it causes absolute indifference to everything that happens. They do not care about worries and problems around them, they are completely immersed in themselves. In some cases, irritability, nervousness and even aggressiveness are observed when relatives and friends try to get them out of this state.
  3. Sleep disturbances... Individuals with a similar problem sleep very badly, get up regularly at night, and cannot wake up in the morning.
  4. Physiological changes... In a crisis, a person begins to refuse food or eat it in very small quantities, which causes rapid fatigue. Due to lack of sleep, the color and condition of the skin changes. A mental disorder can negatively affect your physical well-being. Such people often get sick due to weakened immunity.
You will have to start working on getting out of the state by correcting behavior, because the problem always affects him first of all.

Features of overcoming a personal crisis

The oppressed state will necessarily affect both the person himself and his relationship with others. He can completely immerse himself in himself without seeking help. When he realized that it was necessary to change something, then it was time to act. If you look at it, then overcoming a personal crisis is within the power of every person. The main thing is not to lose control and gradually achieve your goal.

Assessing the situation and drawing up a plan for overcoming a personal crisis


To understand the depth of the problem, you need to take a sober look at what is happening, turn off feelings. If it is difficult to do this on your own, then you can ask for help from a loved one.

Some psychologists recommend writing a list of the things that are unpleasant. Describe which area of ​​life is at a critical point. In some cases, the problem is completely obvious. It could be the loss of a job, the death of a loved one, illness, or something else.

In any situation, you need to try to separate emotions from facts and make yourself a plan of action. The way out of a personal crisis largely depends on a well-thought-out step-by-step list of work. To get back to your old self, it is important to understand what to do next and where to go.

The plan will only be effective if:

  • Set a clear goal... You need to choose for yourself a real and achievable goal that will at least slightly correct the entire deplorable situation: find a job, learn English, go to college, meet a soul mate, make friends, travel. Do everything that will help get out of the crisis and deliver positive emotions.
  • Find the main motive... It is worth noting that there may be several of them, but it is important to determine the main one. For example, a new job is the way to a good financial situation. That is, to set a goal for yourself and explain what it will give.
  • Define search parameters... What specific job do you need to find, what to do there, who to be? How should others, colleagues, friends perceive? What should a working day look like? What level of income will suit you? What can you sacrifice to achieve your goal? All these questions will have to be answered. This way you can correctly identify a potential goal and not deviate from it.
  • Write a list of things to do on the way to achieve the goal... To find new job, you need to register at the labor exchange and search for vacancies on your own. You can also call friends and acquaintances, because very often the work appears in an unexpected way. To reach great heights, it is recommended to go to advanced training courses, improve foreign languages ​​and devote time to self-education. If the main goal is to find friends, then it is important to visit public places, communicate more and show interest.
  • Do not deviate from the plan... After drawing it up, in no case should you give slack and retreat even one point. And, despite the fact that the result is not immediately visible, this does not mean that the actions were taken in vain. Sometimes you need to wait to get the desired "fruit".
  • Do not give up... Even if some point of the plan does not give in the first time, then this is not a reason to doubt your abilities. Many successful people at the beginning of their journey faced several failures. An easy path does not lead to something great and bright.
Remember that there are always two ways out of any situation: stay in the same position and complain all the time, or start doing something. Not everyone can act actively, but it is important to force yourself not to remain dead center. Do not hesitate to use the help of other people, especially if they themselves show a desire to participate in this.

Behavior change to overcome personality crisis


A kind of infantilism in behavior can lead to the formation of a problem. A change in behavior, rethinking values ​​and outlooks on life will help to cope with it.

In this case, the action plan will be supplemented with the following tips:

  1. Take responsibility... Everyone should be responsible for both defeat and victory. It is impossible to go a long way without these two components. In case of defeat, you cannot lose heart, you just need to draw a conclusion and not repeat your mistakes in the future. You should not look for the guilty ones in case of defeat - this is a very bad companion of success.
  2. Stop looking around... Very many modern people are influenced by social networks, where classmates, friends and acquaintances post their photos from bright travels, happy moments or good purchases. Colleagues also brag about trips, home purchases. You should never compare your life with others. Also, young people often look at their school friends and see how great their family life and career. A person may start to panic because they do not have something. If you regularly compare your life with wealthier people, then this is a direct path to an identity crisis.
  3. Let go of constant expectations... In most cases, life does not go according to plan, and this must be recognized as an indisputable fact. Some expectations are met, while others pass by. In any case, there is no reason to be upset and, moreover, to plunge into depression. You should learn to get rid of constant expectations, and if something did not work out, then come to terms with it and try to achieve the goal again.
  4. Stop hoping for someone... Also, don't place high expectations on other people. This is especially true if a person wants to start a relationship and a family.

Important! There are no perfect people, and big expectations only hit big disappointments. Remember one simple truth: they will always be better and worse than you, you should not chase and compete with someone, it is better to fight with yourself and conquer your own peaks every day.

Working on yourself to get out of a personal crisis


It is very important for people to feel beautiful and successful. It instills confidence, courage and self-love. Therefore, personal improvement is of great importance in the fight against personality crisis, for example:
  • Realizing a real dream... Almost every person has a small dream for which there was not enough energy or time. Perhaps I always wanted to learn to knit, do floristry or bake deliciously, go fishing to unknown places or conquer a mountain. Do not limit yourself, inspire your nature and do what brings spiritual pleasure. People who devote time to such an activity will never be immersed in an identity crisis.
  • Sports activities... It may not be easy gym, the modern sphere allows you to find something to your liking. For girls, dancing can be an excellent option, because they not only improve the figure, but also add femininity. If there is a personal crisis in men, then you can choose some combat types art or pool. Some people do not have time to attend individual classes, in which case a morning run is ideal. Plus, such a pastime has a positive effect on brain activity. It is worth noting that during sports, the production of a hormone is stimulated, which is responsible for our feeling of happiness.
  • Personal care... As statistics show, a personal crisis in women very often appears due to dissatisfaction with their appearance. But men are also susceptible to this factor, albeit to a lesser extent. If you don't like the reflection in the mirror, then you need to try to make yourself the person you want to see every morning. Of course, this will take a lot of effort, but the result is worth it. Anyone can change their hairstyle, dress style, conversation style, hair color. Anything, if only the appearance inspires you to leave the house and start doing important things.

It also happens that all measures are practically useless. Often, this is faced by people who set unrealistic demands on themselves and their dreams. Therefore, a breakdown becomes inevitable.

How to avoid a mental breakdown during a personality crisis


Any crisis reaches its climax, and at this moment it is extremely important to prevent a mental breakdown. Otherwise, only a professional psychologist will help to cope with the problem.
  1. Dance more... Psychologists have found that during stress, a person places himself in the so-called shell, it is difficult for him to loosen up and throw out negative emotions... It is very important to be able to relax emotionally. In order not to let the negativity take over, you need to dance every day until the muscles are relaxed. The body should move easily, naturally, without unnecessary stiffness. To do this, you must definitely choose your favorite dynamic music. Psychologists believe that if you dance for at least five minutes a day, the body will become more flexible, which means that it will begin to develop resistance to stress.
  2. Learn to quickly "exhale" and relax... A crisis is exactly the state that makes you be in constant tension. Therefore, it is important to learn how to relax and leave the negativity behind. In addition, it is better to start solving any problem after you have completely got rid of past experience. Tension is sickness, stress, crisis and fear. Relaxation is success, joy, creativity and ease. Today, you can find a huge number of relaxation methods that will help you achieve your goal. If stress is caught by surprise, then there is one simple and effective way: to strain all the muscles of the body as much as possible and hold your breath for five to ten seconds, and then exhale sharply. Try to breathe deeply for at least a couple of minutes.
  3. Focus on positive thoughts... Even in a crisis, there is a positive side, and you should only think about it. For example, in most cases some negative moment makes you start to act. He pushes for self-development and improvement of his appearance. Therefore, the crisis can make people get better. You need to tune yourself in exclusively to positive thoughts. Even if all this does not help to think in a positive way, it is worth writing a story with a good ending and believing in it. For example, in the fact that they really achieved their ultimate goal and are completely happy. Many psychologists say that believing in yourself is half the path traveled.
  4. Be sure to praise yourself! If you focus exclusively on the negative aspects, you can completely lose control of the situation. On top of that, it places you attain your future goal. Whenever a small goal is successfully completed, praise yourself. Focus and take action.
How to overcome a personal crisis - watch the video:


During times of stress, it is important to focus on the end result. This will allow you to avoid all failures and get your way. Ignore external circumstances, just act. During a crisis, you need to quickly set goals for yourself and achieve them. Each conquered peak will gradually bring you out of the depressive state. If you start thinking over all the pros and cons of a particular situation for a long time, for example, changing jobs, then it will be extremely difficult to make a decision. So act quickly and think only good things.

Throughout life, each person is constantly engaged in self-improvement, develops, learns something new. But our modern life can put a person in a position where he is not able to quickly react to any change in the situation. And at such a moment, a person cannot understand what is right and wrong, where is good and where is bad? This is a personality crisis.

Any struggle with various well-established rules, values ​​and norms of behavior is a personality crisis that is very acutely experienced by a person. Trying to understand or change something in this incomprehensible world, a person comes to a mental disorder, and sometimes to death. And the reason for this is a change in his inner state.

Identity crises can occur at any age. Even a newborn baby undergoes a mental state change. At the beginning of life, several crises are identified: a crisis of birth, a crisis of the year, a crisis of three years, etc. Growing up, a person is less exposed to age crises, there is already a pubertal crisis, a midlife crisis, a retirement crisis and a death crisis.

But a person's life is influenced not only by personality crises, depending on his age. Of great importance is his emotional condition, a change in the value system can occur from the endured grief, irreparable loss, under the influence of fear or anger. In many cases, the causes of the crisis lie in family relationships.

A personality crisis is an imbalance in human life. During a crisis, a person is capable of such rash acts that society can neither understand nor accept. A person suffering from a personality crisis is characterized by inappropriate behavior, frequent stress, and prolonged depression.

Various factors contribute to the development of personality, for example, stress or a sudden change in the situation. Our modern life is going on at such a frantic pace that we need to very quickly adapt to the emergence of a new situation. And this speed is not within the power of everyone. Therefore, the body includes additional mental defense forces such as flight, struggle, or depression.

Depression is one of the natural psychological ways to save the body. The person seems to withdraw into himself, he hides and waits for the problem. This tactic really helps. But, on the other hand, depression is negative, because a person does not develop during depression.

Fight or flight methods are based on energizing. The person is either struggling with this problem, or trying to escape from it. It is generally accepted that dealing with a problem is the most correct and the best way out of the crisis. But in our modern world all the functions of protecting the psyche are severely violated, often we ourselves do not know how to react more correctly to the situation that has arisen. Hence the inappropriate behavior, and the personality crisis begins again.

In order to overcome a personality crisis, a person, first of all, must form for himself his own system of values, taking into account what is most important to him. Therefore, you need to focus on your person. At this time, you do not need to think about relatives and friends and make yourself a slave to other people. In the first place should be your own candidacy, and then you need to arrange all your life priorities in order.

Many will consider this self-centeredness an extreme manifestation of selfishness. But this is provided by nature: everyone fights for himself. Of course, it should be borne in mind that this method is only suitable for single people. In a family, there can be two in the central circle, and everything else will revolve around this circle: friends, hobbies, etc. Such a system will help to overcome any hardships and troubles and avoid a crisis.

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The path of life is difficult. It is replete with successes, failures, and unexpected turns. And chances are high that as you wander along this road, your "fellow traveler" will be an identity crisis. Now, reading about this, you probably imagine him as a huge monster that cannot be bypassed or overcome. But remember the words of the great Friedrich Nietzsche: "What does not kill us makes us stronger." It turns out that your crisis can be useful to you!

But how and with what, you ask? We will talk about this.

What is a crisis?

A crisis is a clash between the old and the new, between the familiar past and the possible future, between who you are now and who you could become. What used to be good and effective is no longer so. The goals set are not achieved by the old means, and there are no new ones yet. Quite often, latent conflicts and inconsistencies are manifested in a crisis.

Psychological crises of personality are distinguished by the fact that a person is placed in such conditions - he can no longer behave in the old way, his behavior no longer brings the results he needs. That is why, when you find yourself in a crisis, you most often feel a sense of an impasse and try to find a way out of it. And there is still no way out ...

The crisis is also experienced by many people as a period of anxiety, fears, uncertainty, sometimes emptiness, meaninglessness of existence, a stop on the way - each person comes up with his own metaphor. Here's what different people say about their experiences and feelings during a crisis:

  • "I seemed to freeze alone in some space and did not move."
  • "There was no one around, and there was a feeling that no one would help me, and the whole world around was crumbling."
  • "I experienced tremors, weakness, heaviness, tension and stiffness."
  • "It was like a dive - it embraced me completely, and I could not hide from it anywhere."
  • "It was as if I was in a transparent balloon, and an invisible film separated me from other people."
  • "I really wanted someone else to help me."
  • "I didn't want anything, nothing at all!"
  • “It seemed to me that the whole world seemed to have closed around me and was about to crush me.”
  • "I was exhausted and lacked the strength for anything."
  • “My life no longer belonged to me, I was no longer its 'author'.
  • “Time inside me seemed to have stopped, but outside something was happening and happening ...”.
  • "I wanted to find a way out of this impenetrable darkness as quickly as possible."

All this is about him, about a psychological crisis. Separately, the words of each of the women do not mean anything and can mean anything, but together they make up a picture of a personal crisis. Agree, a difficult and unpleasant picture comes out. Still, it is no coincidence that this condition is one of the most frequent reasons for referring to a psychologist.

What crises are there?

There are actually a lot of them. In fact, there are three types of crises in personality development: an age crisis, a situational crisis, and a personal one. As a rule, when people say: “I have a crisis!”, Then we are talking about the third option. But we will consider everything - to know when to wait and gain patience, and when - to ask for advice from friends or look for a way out in literary sources.

So, age crises. In general, this is actually the norm of life. Almost every person has them, and in more or less the same format. An age crisis is when a person already wants something, but the environment does not yet give him this. There are many such crises, and they arise almost from infancy. Childhood crises occur at the end of the first year, at age three, at age seven, and throughout adolescence. They are all related to the child's acquisition of independence and new skills. For example, at the age of three, the child already wants to dress himself, but his mother does not allow him yet, since it takes too much time. And the child starts to rage. In this situation, the mother needs to accept the growing up of the child and specially carve out time for the child to dress himself - otherwise he will never learn to do this, and his growing up will stop.

Of greater interest to us are age-related crises in adulthood. The first such crisis is 17-18 years old. During this period, the first meeting with adulthood takes place. A person begins to determine himself and is looking for his place in the world. The second crisis occurs between 30 and 40 years - the so-called midlife crisis. A person looks over his life and answers for himself the question: have I done everything that I wanted? The next crisis - pre-retirement - happens at the age of 50-60 and is associated with retirement and the change from a dynamic lifestyle to a more relaxed one. And the last age crisis is a crisis of the end of life - it happens for everyone at different ages. It is associated with a general assessment of the life lived - positive or negative.

Another type of psychological crisis is situational crises. They have their own reason, quite humanly comprehensible. For example, you want a husband - rich, and kind, and caring, and smart, and cheerful - in general, and eat a fish, and climb a pine tree. But all together does not work out, and the woman finds herself alone with this “does not work”. Or, for example, you want to have time to build a career and create an ideal hearth, but you don't have enough time and energy for everything. All these “dead ends” are quite transparent. All you need to do is prioritize, turn around and get out of this trap. Well, you may be a little upset, but living with it is quite possible.

And the last type is personal crises. It is they who are distinguished by the complexity and confusion of experiences, it is from them that it is so difficult for you to find a way out. They may have absolutely different reasons... We all know about crises associated with sad events: grief, loss, loneliness, a sense of meaninglessness. But few people know that crisis experiences can be caused by something essentially joyful - the birth of a child, a wedding, or a long-awaited promotion. The result is always the same: a person feels that something has changed inside, and today he can no longer live the way he lived yesterday. He becomes different. These crises will be discussed later.

What awaits you: stages of experience

Thank God, the personality crisis develops gradually, since no one can withstand such a sudden weight. There are a number of stages that a person goes through, and you can rejoice - a crisis always ends with a way out. It's just that everyone has their own way out. A strong and healthy person is always able to find an option that suits her. But you are just such a person?

So, the stages of experiencing the crisis:

1. Dive stage. As a rule, at the very beginning of a crisis, a person is disturbed by unpleasant sensations in the body. But you do not yet realize that you have an identity crisis - you just feel bad. You are tense and constrained, feeling weak and heavy. Since there is something to be done, you do, but these movements are very fussy and meaningless.

Your thoughts are like sticky porridge, and you chew it for an infinitely long time. When you think about one thing, it immediately pulls an even more unpleasant thought out of your memory. You are vulnerable and unprotected from these and other unpleasant feelings. It looks like a huge black hole, and you fall into it. This is the first stage of the crisis.

2. Stage of the impasse. It is accompanied by feelings of loneliness and lack of support. You are immersed in thoughts and endless introspection - sorting through events, asking yourself questions about the causes of the crisis and cannot find answers. However, your thoughts and feelings are no longer linked into one unpleasant lump - they are more and more experienced by you separately.

Your past no longer helps, you are afraid to be “here and now”, and you gradually begin to make predictions for the future. A feeling of exhaustion and lack of strength permeates you. You understand that outside help will not come, and your desire to find a way out of this impasse is growing more and more. But you cannot get away from these feelings - they must be experienced, and then the light appears for the first time at the end of the tunnel.

3. Stage of the fracture. Against the background of complete moral decline, you begin to pull yourself out of the space of the crisis. At first, this exit manifests itself literally - you hide under the covers and shut yourself off from everything - and then psychologically. As if there are “you” and “you are in crisis. Your consciousness is freed from old non-working thoughts and attitudes. Crisis experiences visit you less and less often, and always one by one. Personality restructuring takes place and readiness for new experience arises.

The world around you seems to be re-opening, and you are in harmony with it. You are free and feel lightness in your body. You are not abandoned by the thirst for new sensations and impressions - sometimes you even want to break loose and embark on a journey. You finally have your desires, and you feel the strength and opportunities to satisfy them. The feeling of happiness does not leave you, and you can finally say to yourself: “I did it! I went through an identity crisis! "

Unfortunately, the crisis does not always end so rosy - sometimes the opposite happens. Psychologists include neuropsychic and psychosomatic disorders, suicide, withdrawal from society, post-traumatic stress, various crimes, alcohol or other addiction, etc., to bad options for the development of events.

As we can see, the crisis does not just test the strength of the personality - it can also destroy it.

How to survive the crisis?

After reading everything that is written, you are probably horrified at the thought of what you will have to go through. But don't worry too much. A personal crisis may not overtake everyone, and if this happened to you, rejoice, because this means a very high level of mental development. Well, if not, then all the more rejoice, because we have already noted that this is one of the most difficult and unpleasant conditions in life.

To our deepest regret, the way out of the crisis cannot be circumvented or accelerated. Remember - you have to survive the crisis, and only then will there be a way out. “And what, it’s impossible in another way? Perhaps there is some magical psychological remedy? " - you ask hopefully. And we will have to upset you: "No, it does not exist." There really are no magic remedies. But there is your personality and your own resources. God himself commanded you to use them.

So how do you make it easier for yourself to live through the crisis?

1. Find support. Yes, you heard right. As much as you would like to distance yourself from this world sometimes, support and sympathy will be very useful to you. Even in a crisis, you remain a person who needs communication, love and care, so wouldn't it be better to get them from a person who is aware of what is happening? This could be a close friend, your spouse, a distant relative, or even a random person on a forum. The main thing is that he should be sympathetic and pleasant to you, and also sincerely interested in what is happening to you. Agree that you will share with him the most intimate and important to you. It is necessary that he listens to you and does not condemn you. Your communication must be honest, and sincere expression of feelings is the key to this.
2. Keep a personal journal. Write there everything that concerns important events for you, experiences, bodily sensations, thoughts and attitudes to what is happening, as well as those images and metaphors that pop up in your head. Keeping a journal will help you become more aware of what is happening to you and also help you separate one experience from another. Through these recordings, you kind of share your experiences with others.
3. Find the inner support. The world around you is crumbling, everything is turned upside down, and in order to survive this, you need to find an island of stability in this world of chaos. Such an island of stability and support can be your conviction in the justice of the world, in its benevolence and the right device... You are an important part of this world and you can control your life. Such attitudes allow you to experience despair and loneliness without collapsing, maintaining faith in the future. Thanks to them, your life regains meaning, based on the experience of all mankind.
4. Experience everything that happens to you. Don't run anywhere, be aware of your feelings. Separate them from each other and unravel this lump of despair. Immerse yourself in them - all this is an invaluable experience, without which you cannot become what you can become. This will require all your efforts and resources.
5. Don't give up, be persistent. Especially in those moments when you want to run away, fly to another planet, or just disconnect. Hold on! This is your strength. When things get really bad, rely on the people you care about and your diary. By the way, later it will be interesting to re-read everything that happened to you during this dark period of your life.
6. Be prepared for unexpected discoveries. For example, that you are not at all as kind as you thought you were. Or that sometimes you are so lazy to do something that you might overlook something special. It is important not just to make these discoveries, but to accept them for yourself. Gradually, you will realize that the world is not black and white - it contains gray and a bunch of colors and intermediate shades. Seeing them is accepting things as they are.
7. Catch the rhythm of your life. It's no secret that each of us has our own rhythm of existence. During a crisis, it gets lost, and you need to restore it. There are three ways you can use it. The first is joining natural rhythms (flickering of fire, the sound of pouring water, the sound of rain), the second - to mechanical (the sound of wheels in a train, the ticking of a clock), and the third is inclusion in rhythms created by other people (rhythmic singing, dancing, round dances, songs and dances).
8. Talk to people who have already experienced an identity crisis. Firstly, it will give you the feeling that you are not alone on this planet (after all, it is loneliness that we are often most afraid of), and, secondly, someone else's experience will be useful for you in terms of discovering new means of experiencing a crisis. Each person is unique and, adapting to a difficult situation, invents something of his own. What if his "his" will be useful to you too? It doesn't hurt to try.
9. Try new things. Direct continuation of the previous point! But seriously, you should try something new when you are ready for it. If you decide to skydive at a dead end, your condition may worsen. Listen to yourself, and if you feel small needs inside for new sensations and global changes, do not forget to satisfy them.
10. Remember that the crisis is finite. Sometimes hopelessness can roll over you. It will seem to you that the end and the edge are not visible to the entire black maelstrom that has drawn you in. In these moments, do not forget that there will definitely be an end, and it will be good. It all depends on you. Stay optimistic even in the most difficult times.

This is all you wanted to know about personality crisis but were afraid to ask. Well, maybe they weren't afraid, but now one way or another you all know. The most important thing to remember is that the crisis is experienced and final, and its result is your new, brilliant and mature personality.

A personal crisis is similar to teething: it hurts, it is difficult, you can try to alleviate it, but you cannot skip this period (for example, removing teeth from the gums with a special apparatus). And it is thanks to the erupted teeth that you can finally bite and chew.

It is the same with the personality - after going through a crisis, you will gain new experience, maybe even some knowledge and skills. After the crisis, many situations that seemed difficult to you will be perceived as elementary: “And because of this I was worried ?!” In general, in a global sense, a crisis is good and good. So do not be afraid, dare, and you will succeed!

The personality crisis in psychology has been considered for a long time, but they have not yet become the subject of deep and long-term research. As a result, in psychology there are different views on the crisis inherent in the life path of the individual. In psychological science, various approaches and views on understanding the essence of crisis phenomena and their typology are presented.

In our opinion, all personality crises that occur on her life path can be divided into:

  • crises of mental development;
  • age crises;
  • crisis of a neurotic nature;
  • professional crisis;
  • critical-semantic crisis;
  • life crises.

According to the strength of the impact on the psyche, three stages of the crisis can be conditionally distinguished: storey, in-depth and deep.

Floor crisis manifests itself in the growth of anxiety, anxiety, irritation, incontinence, dissatisfaction with oneself, one's actions, plans, relationships with others. One can feel confusion, tension in anticipation of the ill-fated development of events. Indifference to everything that worried arises, once stable interests are lost, their spectrum is narrowed. Apathy directly affects decreased performance.

Deepened crisis manifests itself in a feeling of powerlessness in front of what is happening. Everything falls out of hand, the ability to control events is lost. Everything around is just annoying, especially the nearest ones, which must endure outbursts of anger and remorse. Activities that have always been easy now require significant effort. A person gets tired, becomes sad, perceives the world pessimistically. Sleep and appetite are disturbed in it. Aggressive reactions may occur depending on the individual. All these symptoms complicate contacts, narrow the circle of communication, and contribute to the growth of alienation. One's own future causes more and more serious fears, a person does not know how to live on.

Deep crisis accompanied by feelings of hopelessness, disappointment in oneself and others. A person is acutely experiencing his own inferiority, worthlessness, uselessness. Falls into a state of despair, which is replaced by apathy or feelings of hostility. Behavior loses flexibility, becomes rigid. A person is no longer able to spontaneously express his feelings, be spontaneous and creative. She goes deep into herself, isolates herself from relatives and friends. Everything that surrounds her seems unreal, unreal. The meaning of existence is lost.

Each crisis is always lack of freedom, it necessarily becomes a temporary obstacle in development, self-realization. Sometimes a crisis contains a real threat to existence, to a full-fledged existence. The habitual way of life disintegrates, it becomes necessary to enter a different reality, to search for a new strategy for solving a dramatic conflict.

Crisis behavior is striking in its straightforwardness. A person loses the ability to see shades, everything becomes black and white, contrasting for her, the world itself seems to be very dangerous, chaotic, unconvincing. The surrounding reality for a person is destroyed. If a close friend expresses doubts about the behavior of a person who is going through a crisis, she can instantly cross out her long-term relationship with him, accepting his hesitation as a betrayal.

V dangerous world you need to be very careful - thinks someone who has fallen into dramatic life circumstances, and therefore he becomes a mythologist, trying to interpret every little thing as a sign that foreshadows further events. Belief in fate, God, karma, cosmic mind is growing. The inability to take responsibility pushes to shift the burden onto someone else - smarter, more powerful, incomprehensible and mysterious.

The attitude to time changes in such a way that a person ceases to associate the past and the future with each other. What has been experienced seems to be unnecessary, old plans seem unrealistic, impracticable. The passage of time becomes uncontrollable, arouses anxiety, depressing. It becomes almost impossible to live in the present, since a person is not able to adequately perceive what surrounds her. The inner world is more and more removed from the outside, and a person remains captive to his own illusions, neurotic exaggerations, paranoid thoughts.

Summarizing the symptoms of a crisis state, the following indicators can be distinguished: 1) decreased adaptability of behavior; 2) a fall in the level of self-perception; 3) primitivization of self-regulation.

Crises are caused by critical events. Critical events are turning points in a person's individual life, accompanied by significant emotional experiences. All professionally determined critical events can be divided into three groups:

  • normative, due to the logic of professional development and human life: graduation from school, admission to vocational schools, creating a family, employment, etc.;
  • abnormal, which are characterized by random or unfavorable circumstances: failure to enter a vocational school, forced dismissal from work, family breakdown, etc.;
  • extraordinary (supernormal), which occur as a result of the manifestation of strong emotional and volitional efforts of the individual: independent termination of training, innovative initiative, change of profession, voluntary acceptance of responsibility, etc.

Critical events can have two modalities: positive and negative. The modality of events is determined by the ways of emotional response to changes in life, professional circumstances and difficulties. And the event itself for two people can have the opposite modality. The events of the positive modality will be called epic, the negative - incidents.

Unfavorable circumstances are familiar to everyone, there are a lot of social stresses today. However, different individuals experience the same extreme situations in different ways. Even the person himself, who last year perceived any trouble quite easily, can now experience such a collision as a personal catastrophe. The intensity of social cataclysms for each person is different - depending on experience, hardenedness in relation to trials, general pessimistic and optimistic outlook on life.

Neither wars, nor repression, nor environmental or economic crises can be decisive impulses that provoke the emergence of a life crisis. At the same time, events that are almost imperceptible from the outside - betrayal of a loved one, slander, misunderstanding - can push you to a life knockout. The human world combines the external and the internal into an indissoluble integrity, which is why it is impossible to determine whether the causes of each crisis should be sought inside or outside.

V Everyday life situations with an uncertain future also happen. The person who suffers does not provide for the real end of difficult, painful circumstances. A dangerous disease that falls on a person or her family is also a test with an uncertain future. Divorce, family disintegration cannot but be perceived as a narrowing of prospects, inability to predict further existence. The presenter becomes a feeling of the unreality of what is happening, the lack of connection between the present and the past and future. And almost every person experiences the death of relatives - those without whom, in fact, life loses its colors, is devastated.

Life has certain stages, which are always different from each other. Each century, with its beginning and end, eventually passes. A person is constantly progressing and, like a mollusk, breaks the shell. The state, which lasts from the time of the break of the shell to the formation of a new one, is experienced as a crisis.

Twenty-year-olds are said to be trying to find their own business; thirty-year-olds strive to reach certain heights in the chosen field of life; 40-year-olds want to move forward as far as possible; fifty - to gain a foothold in their positions; sixty - to maneuver to make way with dignity.

The described crisis reveals a line, a watershed between the age periods - childhood and adolescence, youth and adulthood. Such a crisis is a progressive phenomenon, without it it is impossible to imagine the development of personality. The person and his environment do not necessarily perceive it painfully, although this also often happens.

It is known that a developmental crisis (normal or progressive crisis) never occurs without tension, anxiety, depressive symptoms. Temporarily, these unpleasant emotional correlates of the crisis state intensify, paving the way for a new, more stable, more harmonious stage. Such a crisis, referring to the studies of E. Erickson, is also called regulatory, that is, one that exists within the normal range. Emphasizing the short-lived, non-pathological nature of age-related disorders that accompany this crisis, D. Offer and D. Oldgam designate it as “substitution”.

In the psychological literature, you can find many terms that characterize people who grow up almost without conflict. They are both "emotionally healthy" and "competent", that is, boys and girls who have high academic performance indicators, communicate quite well with their peers, participate in social interaction adhere to generally accepted norms. Indeed, the individual variants of the course of the crisis largely depend on the innate constitutional characteristics and the nervous system.

Social conditions also have a direct impact on the characteristics of the age crisis. In particular, in the well-known scientific works of M. Mead on empirical material it is proved that even adolescence can be crisis-free, which the researcher studied on the islands of Samoa and New Guinea... The relationship of adolescents with adults is there in such a way that no problems arise. M. Mead believes that an economically developed society creates a number of conditions that provoke age crises and complicate socialization. This is the rapid pace of social change, the contradictions between family and society, and the lack of a necessary system of initiation.

The main symptom of approach normal crisis- this is the mental saturation of the leading activity. For example, in preschool age, such an activity is play, in primary school age - learning, in adolescence - intimate and personal communication. It is the leading activity that provides opportunities for further development, and if the age determinant is exhausted, if within the existing leading activity, favorable conditions for growth are no longer created, the crisis becomes inevitable.

Relatively abnormal (regressive) crisis, then it is not associated with the completion of a certain stage of mental development. It arises in difficult life circumstances, when a person has to experience events that suddenly change her fate. Disorders in professional activity, communication, family relationships, especially if they coincide with a period of general dissatisfaction with their own life, a person can perceive as a catastrophe, which causes persistent emotional disorders. Even a minor nuisance becomes an impetus for the deployment of a crisis state. Therefore, it is so important to know the level of the so-called “biographical stress” in a person, the number of negative events that have occurred during the last month, year, etc.

Complex life situations can be defined as those that require a person to act that exceeds its adaptive capabilities and resources. Personality and event are very closely related to each other, so an individual life story directly affects the perception of dramatic collisions. Eternal troubles (term G. Lazarus) can also affect the occurrence of an abnormal crisis, if there are too many of them, and the person is already in a depressed state.

An normative crisis destroys not only activities that are no longer leading. She may also be zatorkuvati activities in relation to immature, not quite mastered. In general, the negative phase of such a crisis, when there is a process of destruction of the old, obsolete, can be quite long, which prevents the emergence of constructive transformations.

Mental development crises. In Russian psychology, great importance was attached to the study of crises of mental development. A study of the works of Russian psychologists shows that different terms are used in the study of that very psychological phenomenon. The concepts of "age crises" and "crises of mental development" are used as synonyms. To explain the legitimacy of our position, let us consider the factors that initiate the crisis.

In the summary article by K.M. Polivanova about crises of mental development of children has convincingly proved that the leading factors of childhood crises are changes in the social situation of development, restructuring of the system of relationships with adults and the world around them, as well as a change in leading activity.

Crisis phenomena develop in certain relatively short periods. But age does not initiate them in any way. Age is only a background against which the crisis manifests itself, the main thing is restructuring, a change in the social situation and leading activities. And, of course, developmental crises are not limited to childhood. The social developmental situation and leading activities change beyond childhood.

So, crises of mental development are a transition from one stage of development to another, which is characterized by a change in the social situation, a change in leading activity and the emergence of psychological new formations.

From the age of 14-16, the change in the leading activity and social situation further initiates the emergence of crises of mental development. Since the leading activity of an adult is educational, professional and professional, it is justified to call these cardinal changes crises of professional development of the individual. The decisive importance in the emergence of these crises belongs to the change and restructuring of leading activities. A variety of professional crises are creative crises caused by creative failure, lack of significant achievements, and professional helplessness. These crises are extremely difficult for representatives creative professions: writers, directors, actors, architects, inventors, etc.

Age crises. It is legitimate to consider age-related changes in a person, generated by biological development, as an independent factor that determines age-related crises. These crises refer to the normative processes necessary for the normal progressive process of personal development.

In psychology, the crisis of childhood has been thoroughly investigated. Usually they distinguish the crisis of the first year of life, the crisis of 3 years, the crisis of 6-7 years and the adolescent crisis of 10-12 years (L.I. Bozhovich, L.S.Vygotsky, TB Dragunova, D.B. Elkonin, etc.) ... The form, duration and severity of the experience of crises differ markedly depending on the individual and typological characteristics of the child, social conditions, the characteristics of upbringing in the family and the pedagogical system as a whole.

Childhood crises arise during the transition of children to a new age degree and they are associated with the solution of the time of acute contradictions between the peculiarities of relationships with others that have developed in them, as well as with age-old physical and psychological capabilities and aspirations. Negativism, stubbornness, capriciousness, a state of increased conflict are typical behavioral reactions of children during a crisis.

E. Erickson put forward the postulate that each age stage has its own point of tension - a crisis generated by the conflict of development of the "I" -personality. A person is faced with the problem of matching internal and external conditions existence. When certain personality traits mature in her, she is faced with new tasks that life puts before her as a person of a certain age. “Each subsequent stage ... is a potential crisis as a result of a radical change in perspective. The word "crisis" ... is taken in the context of the concept of development in order to highlight not the threat of a catastrophe, but the moment of change, a critical period of increased vulnerability and increased potency. "

E. Erickson divided his life path into eight stages. According to the identified age stages, he substantiated the main crisis of psycho-social development (Fig. 41.1).

Psychosocial development

Strong personality aspect

Basic faith and hope versus basic hopelessness (trust - distrust).

Early childhood

Self-reliance versus guilt and fear of judgment (self-reliance - shame, doubt)

Strength of will

Age of the game

Personal initiative against guilt and fear of judgment (initiative - guilt)

Purposefulness

Junior school age

Entrepreneurship versus feelings of inferiority (hard work - feelings of inferiority)

Competence

Adolescence - early adolescence

Identity versus identity confusion (its identity is role confusion)

Loyalty

Intimacy versus isolation (intimacy is isolation)

Adulthood

Performance versus stagnation, self-dedication (performance versus stagnation)

Old age

(65 years-death)

Integrity, versatility against despair (its integration - despair)

Wisdom

Fig. 41.1. Stages of psycho-social development (according to E. Erickson).

The basis for the periodization of crises of psycho-social development in E. Erickson is the concept of "identity" and "self-identity". The need to be oneself in the eyes of significant others and in one's own eyes determines the driving forces of development, and the contradictions between identity and self-identity predetermine the crisis and the direction of development at each age stage.

Crises of a neurotic nature are predetermined by internal-personal changes: a restructuring of consciousness, unconscious impressions, instincts, irrational tendencies - everything that generates an internal conflict, inconsistency of psychological integrity. They are traditionally the subject of research by Freudists, Neofroydists and other psychoanalytic schools.

Professional crisis. Based on the concept of a personality's professional development, a crisis can be defined as abrupt changes in the vector of its professional development. Short in time, they are most clearly manifested during the transition from one stage of professional development to another. As a rule, crises pass without pronounced changes in professional behavior. However, the restructuring of the semantic structures of professional consciousness, reorientation to new goals, correction and revision of the socio-professional position prepare a change in the ways of performing activities, predetermine changes in relationships with others, and sometimes - for a change in profession.

Let us consider in more detail the factors that determine the crisis of professional development. As determinants, gradual qualitative changes in the ways of performing activities can be interpreted. At the stage of primary professionalization, a moment comes when the further evolutionary development of activity, the formation of its individual style are impossible without a radical breakdown of the normatively approved activity. A person must make a professional act, reveal excessive activity or reconcile. Excessive professional activity may appear during the transition to a new educational, qualification or creative level of performance.

Another factor that initiates crises of professional development may be an increased social and professional activity of an individual as a result of his dissatisfaction with his social and professional educational status. Socio-psychological orientation, professional initiative, intellectual and emotional tension often lead to the search for new ways of performing professional activities, ways to improve them, as well as to change the profession or place of work.

The factors that give rise to professional crises can be the socio-economic conditions of a person's life: liquidation of an enterprise, job cuts, unsatisfactory wages, moving to a new place of residence, etc.

Also, factors that cause a crisis of professional development are age-related psychophysiological changes: deterioration in health, decreased performance, weakening of mental processes, professional fatigue, intellectual helplessness, "emotional burnout" syndrome, etc.

Professional crises often arise during the entry into a new position, participation in competitions for filling a vacant position, certification and tariffication of specialists.

Finally, a factor of a long-term crisis phenomenon can be complete loss of professional activity. Canadian psychologist Barbara Killinger in her book "Workaholics, Respectable Drug Addicts" notes that professionals who are obsessed with work as a means of achieving recognition and success, sometimes seriously violate professional ethics, become conflicted, and show tough relationships.

Professional development crises can be triggered by changes in life activity (change of place of residence; break in work associated with caring for young children; " love affair at work" and etc.). Crisis phenomena are often accompanied by a vague awareness of the insufficient level of their competence and professional helplessness. Sometimes there are crisis phenomena in conditions top level professional competence than is needed to perform normative work. As a result, a state of professional apathy and passivity arises.

L.S. Vygotsky identified three phases of age crises: pre-critical, critical proper, and post-critical. In his opinion, in the first phase there is an aggravation of the contradiction between the subjective and objective components of the social situation of development; in the critical phase, this contradiction begins to manifest itself in behavior and activity; in post-critical it is solved by creating a new social situation of development.

Based on these provisions, it is possible to analyze the crisis of the professional development of the individual.

  • Precritical phase turns out to be dissatisfied with the existing professional status, the content of the activity, the ways of its implementation, interpersonal relations. A person is not always clearly aware of this dissatisfaction, but she finds herself in psychological discomfort at work, irritability, dissatisfied with the organization, wages, managers, etc.
  • For critical phase characteristic deliberate dissatisfaction with the real professional situation. A person builds options for changing it, considers scenarios for further professional life, feels an increase in mental tension. The contradictions are aggravated, and a conflict arises, which becomes the core of the crisis phenomena.

Analysis of conflict situations in crisis phenomena makes it possible to distinguish the following types of conflicts in the professional development of a personality: a) motivational, caused by a loss of interest in studies, work, loss of prospects for professional growth, disintegration of professional orientation, attitudes, positions; b) cognitively effective, determined by dissatisfaction, the content and methods of the embodiment of educational, professional and professional activities; c) behavioral, caused by contradictions in interpersonal relationships in the primary team, dissatisfaction with their social and professional status, position in the group, salary level, etc.

The conflict is accompanied by reflection, revision of the educational and professional situation, analysis of their capabilities and abilities.

  • Conflict resolution leads to crisis postcritical phase. Conflict resolution methods can be constructive, professionally neutral and destructive.

A constructive way out of the conflict presupposes an increase in professional qualifications, a search for new ways of performing activities, a change in professional status, a change in job and retraining. This way of overcoming crises requires a person to be above-standard professional activity, to commit acts that pave a new channel for his professional development.

The professionally neutral attitude of the individual to crises will lead to professional stagnation, indifference and passivity. The person seeks to realize himself outside of professional activities: in everyday life, various hobbies, gardening, etc.

The destructive consequences of crises turn out to be moral degradation, professional apathy, drunkenness, and indolence.

The transition from one stage of professional development to another also gives rise to normative crisis phenomena.

The following stages of the professional development of a personality are determined:

  • optats_ya - the formation of professional intentions;
  • vocational education and behavior;
  • professional adaptation;
  • primary and secondary professionalization: primary professionalization - up to 3-5 years of work, secondary professionalization - high-quality and productive performance of activities;
  • craftsmanship is a highly productive, creative, innovative activity.

At the stage of option, a reassessment of educational activity takes place: depending on professional intentions, motivation changes. Education in the senior grades is acquiring a professionally oriented character, and in vocational educational institutions it has a clear educational and professional orientation. There is every reason to believe that at the stage of option there is a change in the leading educational-cognitive activity to educational-professional. The social situation of development is changing dramatically. At the same time, a collision of the desired future and the present is inevitable, which takes on a character crisis of educational and vocational guidance.

The experiences of the crisis, the reflection of their capabilities predetermine the correction of professional intentions. There are also adjustments to the “I-concept”, which was formed before this age.

A destructive way of resolving the crisis leads to a situational choice of vocational training or profession, falling out of the normal social sphere.

During the vocational training stage, many apprentices and students experience disappointment in the profession they are receiving. Dissatisfaction with certain academic subjects arises, doubts arise about the correctness of the professional choice, and interest in training decreases. In a crisis of professional choice. As a rule, it clearly manifests itself in the first and last years vocational training. Apart from rare exceptions, this crisis is overcome by changing educational motivation to social and professional. Every year, the professional focus of academic disciplines increases, and this reduces dissatisfaction.

So, the crisis of revision and correction of professional choice at this stage does not reach the critical phase, when the conflict is inevitable.

After completing training in a professional institution, the stage of professional adaptation begins. Young specialists start their independent labor activity. The professional situation of development is radically changing: a new developmental team, another hierarchical system of industrial relations, new social and professional values, another social role and, of course, fundamentally the new kind leading activity.

Already choosing a profession, the young man had a certain idea of ​​the job ahead. But the discrepancy between the real professional life and the idea that has been formed predetermines the crisis of professional examinations.

The experience of this crisis is expressed in dissatisfaction with the organization of labor, its content, job responsibilities, industrial relations, working conditions and wages.

There are two options for resolving the crisis:

  • constructive: intensifying professional efforts to quickly adapt and gain work experience;
  • destructive: dismissal, change in specialty; inadequacy, poor quality, unproductiveness of professional functions.

The next normative crisis of the professional development of the individual arises at the final stage of primary professionalization, after 3-5 years of work. Consciously or unconsciously, a person begins to feel the need for further professional growth, the need for a career. In the absence of prospects for professional growth, the person feels discomfort, mental tension, thoughts about possible dismissal, change of profession appear.

The crisis of professional growth can be temporarily compensated for by various non-professional, leisure activities, household chores, or perhaps a cardinal solution - leaving the profession. But such a resolution of the crisis can hardly be considered productive.

Further professional development of a specialist leads him to secondary professionalization. A feature of this stage is the high-quality and highly productive performance of professional activities. The ways of its implementation have a clearly expressed individual character. The specialist becomes a professional. He is characterized by a social and professional position, stable professional self-esteem. Social and professional values ​​and relationships are radically restructured, the ways of performing activities are changing, which indicates the transition of a specialist to a new stage of professional development. The professional self-awareness that has been formed so far suggests alternative scenarios for a future career, and not necessarily within this profession. The personality feels the need for self-determination and self-organization. Contradictions between the desired career and its real prospects lead to development crisis of professional career. At the same time, a serious review of the "I-concept", corrections were made in the existing relationship. It can be stated that the professional situation of development is being rebuilt.

Possible scenarios for overcoming the crisis: dismissal, mastering a new specialty within the same profession, moving to a higher position.

One of the productive options for eliminating the crisis is the transition to the next stage of professional development - the stage of mastery.

For mastery stages characterized by a creative innovative level of professional performance. The driving factor for the further professional development of the individual is the need for self-realization. Professional self-actualization of the individual causes dissatisfaction with himself and others.

A crisis of unrealized opportunities, or rather, a crisis social and professional self-actualization, - it is a spiritual confusion, a rebellion against oneself. A productive way out of it is innovation, invention, a rapid career, social and professional over-normative activity. Destructive options for resolving the crisis are liberation, conflicts, professional cynicism, alcoholism, creating a new family, depression.

The next normative crisis of professional development is due to the exit from professional life. Upon reaching a certain age limit, a person retires. The pre-retirement period for many employees takes on a crisis character. The severity of the crisis of loss of professional activity depends on the characteristics of labor activity (workers in physical work experience it easier), marital status and health.

In addition to normative crises, professional development is accompanied by non-normative ones associated with life circumstances. Events such as forced dismissal, retraining, change of residence, breaks in work associated with the birth of a child, disability cause strong emotional experiences and often acquire a clearly pronounced crisis character.

Crises of professional development are expressed in the change in the pace and vector of the professional development of the individual. These crises are conditioned by the following factors:

  • age-related psychophysiological changes;
  • changes in the social and professional situation;
  • qualitative restructuring of the ways of performing professional activities;
  • total immersion in the social and professional environment;
  • socio-economic conditions of life;
  • service and vital events.

Crises can occur briefly, violently or gradually, without pronounced changes in professional behavior. In any case, they generate mental tension, dissatisfaction with the social and professional environment, with oneself.

Often crises proceed without pronounced changes in professional behavior.

Critical-semantic crisis due to critical life circumstances: dramatic and sometimes tragic events. These factors are destructive, thus disastrous for a person. There is a radical restructuring of consciousness, a review of value orientations and the meaning of life in general. These crises occur on the brink of human capabilities and are accompanied by boundless emotional experiences, they are predetermined by such abnormal events as disability, disability, divorce, involuntary unemployment, migration, unexpected death of a loved one, imprisonment, etc.

P.O. Akhmerov, examining the biographical crisis of personality, as the factors that predetermine the names of events and the relationship between them. Depending on the relationship, he identifies the following crises:

  • crisis of unfulfillment - a subjective negative experience of the life program;
  • a crisis of emptiness - mental fatigue and feelings of lack of achievement;
  • a crisis of hopelessness - the lack of prospects for professional growth of real plans for the future.

The author does not compare these crises with the person's age. In his opinion, they are determined by subjective experiences. In the individual life of a person, the main crises occur in different ways: emptiness + hopelessness; unfulfilled + emptiness + hopelessness. A person experiences such combinations of crises rather hard, and the exit can be destructive, up to suicide.

Life crises. Life crisis is called the period during which the method of determination of development processes, life plan, trajectory change life path... This is a long-term deep conflict over life in general, its meaning, main goals and ways to achieve them.

Along with the named groups of psychological crises, there is another huge layer of crisis phenomena caused by large abrupt changes in living conditions. The determinants of these life crises are such important events as graduation from an educational institution, employment, marriage, childbirth, change of residence, retirement and other changes in the individual biography of a person. These changes in socio-economic, temporal and spatial circumstances are accompanied by significant subjective difficulties, mental tension, restructuring of consciousness and behavior.

Life crises are subject close attention foreign psychologists, in particular Sh. Buhler, B. Livehuda, E. Erickson. Dividing human life into periods, stages, they pay attention to the difficulties of transition from one stage to another. At the same time, they emphasize the peculiarities of crisis phenomena in women and men, analyze the factors that initiate the crisis. Depending on the scientific orientation, some researchers see the causes of crises in the biological development of a person, pay attention to sexual changes, others attach greater importance to the socialization of the individual, while others - to spiritual, moral formation.

Widely known in the 1980s pp. in the United States acquired a book by the American journalist Gail Shinhee "The Alleged Crisis in the Life of an Adult" (1979). On the basis of a generalization of the life of the upper strata of the American middle class, she identifies four crises:

  • "Pulling out roots", emancipation from parents (16 years old);
  • maximum achievements (23 years);
  • correction of life plans (30 years);
  • mid-life (37 years) - the most difficult, milestone.

After retirement, social and psychological aging begins. It manifests itself in a weakening of intellectual processes, an increase or decrease in emotional experiences. The pace of mental activity decreases, caution appears towards innovations, constant immersion in the past and orientation towards previous experience. They also note a passion for moralizing and condemning the behavior of young people, opposing their generation to the generation that is taking over. This is a crisis of social and psychological adequacy.

Experiences during acute crisis conditions:

  • hopelessness, aimlessness, emptiness, a sense of a dead end. Against such an emotional background, a person is not able to independently cope with their problems, find ways to solve them and act;
  • helplessness. The person feels that he is deprived of any opportunity to control his life. This feeling often arises in young people who feel that others are doing everything for them, and nothing depends on them;
  • a sense of their own inferiority (when a person estimates himself low, considers himself insignificant, etc.);
  • feeling of loneliness (no one is interested in you, does not understand you);
  • fast change of feelings, change of mood. Hopes quickly light up and go out.

The crisis is exacerbated by such life circumstances: the past in a really dysfunctional family, difficult childhood, domestic violence, unsatisfactory relationships with loved ones, loss of loved ones, loss of work, social rejection, retirement (undesirable), serious illness, collapse of life plans, loss of ideals , problems associated with religious faith. The person experiences the loss of a loved one more strongly if it was strong emotional addiction from her or if the deceased evokes ambivalent, opposite feelings, an acute sense of guilt.

Suicidal intent can be suspected from the following signs:

  • lack of interest in anything;
  • inability to plan their actions in the current life situation;
  • inconsistency, duality of intentions. A person expresses a desire to die and at the same time asks for help. For example, a person may say: "Actually, I would not like to die, but I see no other way out."
  • conversations about suicide, increased interest in various aspects of suicide (cases, ways ...);
  • dreams with stories of self-destruction or disasters;
  • reasoning about the lack of meaning in life;
  • letters or notes of a farewell nature, unusual ordering of affairs, execution of a will.

The tendency to commit suicide increases during the period of depression, especially when it is deep and tense. The following signs should also be alarming: the sudden disappearance of anxiety, reassurance, which is frightening, with a tinge of "otherness", detachment from the worries and anxieties of the surrounding life.

Increase the risk of suicide: attempts to commit suicide in the past, cases of suicide from relatives, parents; suicide or attempts to commit it among acquaintances, especially friends; maximalists character traits, a tendency to uncompromising decisions and actions, division into "black and white", etc.

To this day, a lot remains unclear in suicide, they were not the reason.

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