Quarter-Life Crisis

I have been going through a quarter-life crisis..

Yes, quarter-life crisis is a real thing! You have no idea that a lot of young individuals are in the middle of their quarter-life crisis right now. This type of personal crisis is most commonly experienced in the period of early 20s up to mid-30s. I’m experiencing it too.

I feel like I’m trapped. I’m currently in a constant state of worry. I’m starting to doubt myself, hardly get to sleep and overthink everything. The anxiety and the uncertainty hit me right in the feelings. I feel like I just want to ‘get out’ or run away from certain situations. Sometimes I would also compare my achievements in life with others. I know it’s not healthy. It’s like I never feel satisfied with my life and always craving for more. Comparing myself with others is probably just a way of me telling myself “Hey, you can do better! You have to be better! If they can do it, why can’t you?”. Well, I shouldn’t have done that. I have my limits.

It’s not that I don’t have purposes in life and it’s not that I don’t know what I’m passionate about. I know exactly what I want. I’m even at the stage where I can explore and take opportunities in both my professional and private lives. I should have no reason to be struggling over this feeling cause these years are supposed to be enjoyable. But I don’t know why I’m having this feeling of unease, as if everything is never enough.

So, what are the triggers? Why do I feel this?

I’m not quite sure. But it’s probably because I’m working hard, and yet I don’t feel I have enough money to live the lives I’ve always wanted to be? Or maybe because I’m exhausted to be an adult where I should always make big decisions in life and be responsible for it? Maybe all this time, I tend to do everything to make my family happy, not because I do it so that I can be happy? Considering my age, maybe I’m just worrying too much, feeling insecure, and craving to have so-called settled life?

It’s just too much going on in my head.

This personal crisis is affecting me mentally but thankfully not until the point where I’m depressed. Hopefully not. 

During this time, I just often reflect on where I am in life and make plans to take the next steps and moving forward. I will just do what I need to do in my ability and limits, to achieve what I want in life. Cause I know that I will never be satisfied, no matter how far I go.

Some people might think that I’m lucky to have a happy life with a good job, a loving family, and a perfect social life. It’s not completely wrong, but what they see on social media (or even in real life) is just the surface. People just don’t know I’m still trying to figure out how to forgive myself for the mistakes I’ve done in the past.

How can you know that you’re also having a quarter-life crisis? If you feel dissatisfaction with your personal growth, career, social life, or your relationship, you might be having this personal crisis, just like me. How to cope with it? That’s also my question and I’m trying to find the answers. 

Life is tough, indeed. Family and trusted friends can probably be helpful for me to overcome the quarter-life crisis. But one thing for sure is that I will never be alone, cause God is always with me.

I write this post so that in the future I will know that it’s normal to have these negative feelings, and it’s okay to not be okay.