Erikson 5th Stage

When I was 8, I wanted to be an archaeologist because it was the coolest word I knew. Until one day, I came across some repulsive old animal bones in the mountain caves around my hometown. A while later, I  decided to be an illustrator, but bad grades in art classes proved that I was far from being artistically talented. From then on, my career choice has been a bumpy road of constantly shifting ideas. My confusion grew stronger as I was quickly getting into adolescence. I am now 20 years old and, as of today, choosing a career is the most challenging issue in my life.

To begin with,  this career confusion challenge corresponds to the fifth stage, identity versus role confusion, in Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development. According to Erikson, human beings go through different stages, across lifespan, each characterized by one specific conflict between two opposing concepts. Theoretically, this fifth stage occurs between the ages of 12 and 18, but it may be resolved sooner for some or take longer for others depending on the environment they live in and the reinforcements they receive. From Erikson’s perspective, identity is the partly conscious but predominantly unconscious sense of who one is as a person and as a contributor to the work of one’s society (Hoare 2002 ). On the other hand, role confusion is the inability to settle to one’s social identity and continuously questioning the way others perceive oneself.  Erik Erikson described this stage as being an “ identity crisis ”, the most important period of intensive analysis people face in their development. Resolving this challenge is about developing fidelity to our own identity. Therefore, by separating oneself from one’s parents, an exploration process takes place. It is also an inevitable growth between which the person has come to be during childhood and that which he or she aspires to become in the future.

Just like everyone else, from the moment I was born, not only did I acquire a certain family identity but also, a national, racial, religious and social one. Up until adolescence, I had never questioned what I have been taught. I knew that I should never be inconsistent in my beliefs, I should never have doubts and always have all the answers. Therefore, growing up in a poor environment and moving to a new country played a crucial role in the outcome of my adolescent development. However, at the age of 13, I slowly started challenging everything I ever believed in. At first, I felt guilty for driving myself away from my family and especially my parents, but it quickly became clear that by exploring the society around me, my self-confidence was growing. In fact, Erikson believed that the individual can only be  understood from his or her social context (as stated in Sokol, 2009). It is through interactions with friends that we validate our thoughts and end up either figuring out who we are or falling into a role confusion. By exploring, I am also able to take the traumas and make them part of whom I have become. Learning about the fifth stage of Erik Erikson’s theory of psychosocial development was like looking at my life through someone else’s eyes. Yes, not being able to settle on a specific career is distressful. However, it is a normal challenge and up to this day, I keep trying to always separate myself from the desire to blend in.

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