21 Signs of Quarter Life Crisis

A recent study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Development found that 39% men and 49% women reported feeling a CRISIS in their twenties.

In a study presented at the British Psychological society, researchers identified 5 key phases of the Quarter Life Crisis:-

PHASE 1- A feeling of being trapped by their life choices.

PHASE 2- A feeling of breaking free from the routine to change their life.

PHASE 3- Quitting whatever that is holding them back- be it job, relationship, etc. To embark on a journey to get new experiences.

PHASE 4- Re engineering their life.

PHASE 5- Developing goals and commitments in line of the new found experiences and aspirations

Quarter Life Crisis

It is a period of existential crisis in a person’s life during the age group 24–34. She/He begins to feel doubtful about their own lives, burdened by the stress of becoming an adult. It is the time where she/he takes a stride towards adulthood with the other leg still stuck in immaturity.

Free rides are suddenly over and you cannot piggyback on your parent’s shoulder to sail calmly through the turbulent tides. You have to brave the waves on your own without the safety of life jacket in unknown waters on a creaky boat. Add to this there is no compass support and you’ve lost the sense of direction. There is no respite as it is a dark night and no lighthouse to guide your path.

Enough of this melodrama.

You know you are facing a Quarter Life Crisis if you face the following:-

1. You start questioning your life’s purpose too frequently.
2. You feel out of place everywhere; be it workplace, social gatherings, parties, weddings.
3. Your growing expenses cause you to worry, too often too much.
4. You’ve changed too many jobs, cities in last couple of years.
5. You’ve had no boyfriend, girlfriend in last couple of years.
6. You have no clue where your life is heading and this lack of clarity makes you feel nauseated.
7. Your friends/ex’s have married, probably even celebrating their kids’ 2nd birthday, while you don’t even have a boy/girl friend. All you do is scroll through their photo albums/ updates posted on social media.
8. You’ve had too many boy/girl friends in the last couple of years and you decide that being single is the best.
9. You constantly avoid meeting and talking to your relatives as all they ask is “when are you getting married??” “Why don’t you choose a life partner?? ” “Is there something wrong with you (physically).
10. You are constantly being nagged for having children.
11. You’ve lost the track of your friends, without whom you never imagined a life. You are still trying to deal with it.
12. You miss your family while working in a new city with alien traditions, food habits and you miss your freedom when you visit home.
13. It’s been more than 4 years since college.
14. Social media update of your friends’ travels, accomplishments makes you jealous to no bounds.
15. You’re no more crazy, wild, party animal that you used to be. Suddenly an overwhelming sense of becoming an adult creeps in. King size birthday parties are replaced by humble cake cutting by colleagues. The nightouts, drives seems like a waste of time & money.
16. You sometimes want to just cry to break that dam of emotions wielding up inside you.
17. Managing finances suck the blood out of you. You start curbing your spending desires as the budget doesn’t allow much room for it and you are becoming money conscious. Filing taxes give you nightmares.
18. You believe that a trip will definitely fix everything, then you realize you don’t have any companion/ friend to ride along. Travelling solo makes you miss them even more.
19. You get frustrated and depressed on every single thing.
20. You spend too much time alone doing nothing.
21. Suddenly “what’s on your mind” on Facebook becomes a glaring question. You start watching cat/dog and baby videos on “youtube” as you’ve exhausted your playlist.