The harder, less recognizable sign of quarter-life crisis

These days, more and more people are going through with quarter-life crisis, a period in one’s life characterized by doubt and meaninglessness.

It’s comparable to the more popular midlife crisis, except quarter-life crisis happens earlier in life, at around 20-30 years old, clinical psychologist Dr. Cely Magpantay says.

“Despite ambition, despite success, parang may kulang,” she continues.

People going through a quarter life crisis often start to doubt their decisions — decisions that have led them to where they are — and start thinking, “is this really for me?” Often, they suffer through a burn out at work.

Sometimes, they even break down and become vulnerable to mental illnesses. According to Dr. Magpantay, quarter-life crisis is a progressive little thing.

But here’s the thing: despair and doubt are not the only faces of quarter-life crisis. The harder, less recognizable sign of it is a person turning into a workaholic.

“Instead of emptiness, they over-compensate and become very busy [and turn into a workaholic], continues Dr. Magpantay. “Other times, ang dami-dami nilang gusto gawin. They turn passionate sa isang bagay, but minsan out of context yung passion nila.”

Dr. Magpantay says both manifestations of a quarter-life crisis — meaninglessness and mania —boil down to emptiness. “You become a workaholic because you want to fill in the emptiness.”

So what then do you do, when you begin to feel as though your work has become meaningless — or that it seems like you’re fighting this meaninglessness by doing more and doing better?

Apart from seeking professional help, Dr. Magpantay suggests involving oneself in other things outside of work. Try new things, she suggests, get a new hobby, and increase your life skills!

You can also try and widen your circle of friends.

But the important thing is to boost your confidence and belief in yourself. “Don’t be affected by what others say. You have to know yourself.”

And if you don’t know who that is yet, you can start by “asking yourself: What do you really want? Have a redirection, or do a session of goal-setting. And then balance your expectations versus what you want to do.” — LA, GMA News