Quarter Life Crisis

Dating as a Millennial can be frustrating and exciting. We are the generation where we are more open minded but seems like we are dating and forming relationships at a slower rate than our parents. Why is this? I think it is due to many reasons. One reason being, we are going through a quarter life crisis. 

I think our quarter life crisis is brought on by figuring out our identity later in life I will not bore you with too much research but according to Erickson, during adolescences we go through the identity versus role confusion where we transition from childhood to more of adulthood. We figure out our values, morals, and who we want to be. Personally, I feel that it is a lot for a teenager to process. I feel that teenage years are more about who am I now that I am not a child and your 20’s is about who am I as an adult. With this exploration, I think dating has changed and the rate we get into serious relationships has also changed.

We are forming careers later in life. We are taking the time to figure out what we want to do and what we want our career to look like. This can look like what am I interested in career wise, what gives me passion, and how do I want to present myself to the world. This also can mean people are looking for different things from relationships. Some may want to date with marriage in mind and others may only want a casual relationship while they focus on building their career. This can cause confusion and tension in the dating world. It is important to be genuine and communicate what you are looking for versus pretending you are ok with the path the person you are dating wants to go on. 

With the exploration of “who am I,” means we are growing psychologically in our twenties and figuring out who we are later. So this means if we are in a relationship we can grow together or grow apart. People are exploring their morals, values and other important personality traits. It is important to communicate with your partner during this time versus assuming you are just different people. The person you are at 20 may be different when you are 26, but that does not mean you are not compatible with your partner. It may just mean you need to discuss these differences.

With this quarter life crisis, we are becoming more open to the idea of therapy. Millennials are taking the stigma away from therapy. Many celebrities are discussing therapy and the idea of mental health. This is a positive for our generation. More 20-30 year olds are coming to individual and couples therapy to achieve psychological growth and gain insight into themselves as an individual and as a couple. 

Lastly, with people getting married later, we are now having kids at later ages. We no longer have the expectation to get married in our 20’s. I think this causes our exploration to last longer and I think this identity exploration is continuing into our 30’s. 

If you identify with any of the above please feel free to reach out to a fellow Millennial for therapy and to help continue your psychological growth. You can give us a call at 813-434-3639!