Identity crisis

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

An identity crisis is a crisis that is caused by an insecure  self-image and leads to the perception of identity being questioned. Those affected question their own identity and identification with it, which mostly relates to their own actions , character traits , opinions and the chosen social environment. An identity crisis can be based on a (feared) loss of identity , which is triggered, for example, by a traumatic event , an emotional shock or (mental) illness. An identity crisis can arise, for example, as a result of personal, professional, religious, political or ideological changes or reorientation. In addition to individuals, the term is also used for individual organizations or groups (for example, religious or political groups or countries).

Explanatory approaches

Causes are, for example, self-doubt , general dissatisfaction, not finding a possible meaning , fears about the future , traumatic shocks and nostalgic longing. Far-reaching upheavals in life, the beginning of a new phase of life, a changed life situation, experiences of loss, serious illnesses, professional or private crises and the belief that one cannot master a developmental task can lead to an identity crisis (see also the step model of psychosocial development ). If one's own expectations and those of the environment cannot be reconciled and thus one's role cannot be pursued, an identity crisis can also arise. Another reason can be cultural, religious, ideological, political, social, professional, linguistic or family differences. For example, migrants or blended families can get into an identity crisis if they cannot come to an agreement between different cultures. Also (long) isolation from a part of society or a culture or a separation of these can lead to an identity crisis. One example are East German young people who came into contact with West German culture after reunification . Feeling in the wrong gender ( gender identity disorder ) or a lack of identification with people of the same age can also result in an identity crisis.

consequences

An identity crisis can lead to symptoms of tiredness , listlessness , circulatory disorders and stomach pain , sleep disorders , stress , depression and mood swings .

Identity Crisis in Literature

The identity crisis is also a frequent topic in literature . In his book The Metamorphosis , Franz Kafka depicts Gregor Samsa's loss of identity through the transformation into a beetle . Faust is also in an identity crisis in Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's processing of the Faust material , as he cannot know everything and can not be shown everything about his doubts own life.

literature

  • Hans Wysling, Andrea Fischbacher-Bosshardt: Identity and Identity Crisis, 1991, University of Michigan
  • Ron Klug. Identity, crisis and the myth of probation: conceptions of identity theory

Web links

Wiktionary: Identity crisis  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Identity Crisis - Lexicon of Psychology . ( Spektrum.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  2. ^ A b Claus Buddeberg: Sexual counseling: an introduction for doctors, psychotherapists and family counselors; 14 tables . Georg Thieme Verlag, 2005, ISBN 978-3-13-136574-3 ( google.at [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  3. ↑ Françoise D. Alsaker: identity crisis. DORSCH Lexicon of Psychology ( archive ).
  4. ↑ Uwe Henrik Peters: Lexicon of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Medical Psychology: with an English-German dictionary attached . Elsevier, Urban & FischerVerlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-437-15061-6 ( google.com [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  5. ↑ Meinolf Peters : Clinical developmental psychology of old age: Basics for psychosocial counseling and psychotherapy . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2004, ISBN 978-3-525-46219-5 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  6. ↑ Claudia Baumgartner: Identity and its crisis in the migration process: the identity crisis using the example of migrant women and the resulting consequences for counseling in social work . Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts - Social Work, 2012 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  7. ↑ Michael Grosse: Identity Crisis of East German Young People ?: Political and social attitudes of East and West German young people in the unification process . Universität der Bundeswehr Hamburg, 1994 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Christel Köhle-Hezinger, Martin Scharfe, Rolf Wilhelm Brednich: Male. Female. On the importance of the gender category in culture . Waxmann Verlag, ISBN 978-3-8309-5799-7 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  9. ↑ Ulrike R. LaPorte: Studies on the identity crisis in the contemporary novel: The theme of life and literature in the age of technical reproducibility in Max Frisch's novel Stiller . 1980 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  10. ↑ Monika Wolting : Identity Constructions in Contemporary German Literature . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2017, ISBN 978-3-8470-0741-8 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  11. ^ Kafka reception in the literature of the GDR . ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  12. ↑ Andreas Dawidowicz: The metaphorical illness as social criticism in the works of Franz Kafka, Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Thomas Bernhard . LIT Verlag Münster, 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-12179-0 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).
  13. ^ Vanessa Werner: The Identity Crisis Franz Kafkas. Selected aphorisms . GRIN Verlag, 2014, ISBN 978-3-656-70500-0 ( google.de [accessed October 30, 2017]).