Quarter life crisis - living and dealing with it

Is mid 20s the new mid 40s?

The title must have made you think "Is that a real term? Does that even exist?” or it could be sigh of relief, “I am not alone in this”. As we transition from adolescence to adulthood, the cold period, often filled with stress, anxiety, imposter syndrome might hit you. This is not uncommon, a lot of people in their 20s and 30s feel it, including me. To me, quarter life crisis is more of a “feeling” than a “condition”.

I have days where I feel “Am I doing enough?” , “I am not good enough”, there are days when I want to lie still in my bed and not move at all, there are also days when I am in my highest and motivated to do a lot of things. While the quarter-life crisis can be overwhelming, it is also a transformative phase that presents opportunities for personal growth and self-discovery.

This newsletter issue is not about how you can solve it, it is more about dealing with it. It is a part of our lives, it can make you feel terrible, miss deadlines, face burnouts, but it is more common that you know! Don’t believe me? Read the comments here.

If you are going through any of these:

• Lacking direction in your career, relationships or overall life purpose.

• Having difficulties making decisions.

• Struggling to figure out what’s missing.

• Lack motivation.

• Signing up for multiple things, and failing to achieve it

• Struggling with fatigue, stress, anxiety or depression.

• Fear of getting left behind.

There is a chance that you are facing quarter-life crisis. This is often a result of overthinking, impact of social media where everything seems perfect, or some kind of trauma.

There is no solution for it. You need to try different ways and see what makes you feel the best to get over the feeling.

Here’s what works for me:

• Venting it out on some platform (like this newsletter or in the notes app of my phone).

• You may try talking to a friend, it can help (never really helped me).

• Changing the environment, staying off gadgets, and fresh air

• Having something to look forward to - this can be a vacation, a course, a blog or learning something new (like dancing)

• Lastly, reminding myself that these feelings are normal, and I can cope up with it.

• Thinking about good memories

The one thing that keeps me going is - this is not a forever feeling, it will go away soon, I just need to believe myself.

Writer’s note - Even while I am writing this, there is a constant voice in my head that says “The writing is not good, you need to write better” and trying to stop me from sending the `send` button. This is where I take a step ahead, mute the voices in my head and press “Send”. If this issue has reached your email, share it with someone who you think needs it, it is the “I am not alone in this” feeling that keeps us going.