10 tips how to go through the mid-twenties crisis
If you are reading this probably you are in your twenties and you have also experienced recently an identity crisis. You are not alone, surprisingly many of us experience it. It can be a tough time, but the good news is that we can do something to deal with this crisis.
Let’s admit it. It’s a strange time. Half of our friends are getting engaged, getting married, planning a family, taking a loan for a new apartment and planning everything. The second half doesn’t even know what they will be doing in one month. They look at other people and wonder how is it possible that some people have such perfectly organized lives whereas the others (this is us) have literally no idea where their life is heading. To cheer you up, I prepared ten useful tips which will help you to deal with this feeling. Let’s start.
- Reduce (and by this I mean — to minimum!) the time you spend on social media
This sounds like cheap advice that one can find in every article about life happiness. I also don’t like this advice, but well, it really helps a lot. How much time do you spend on scrolling through facebook or checking instagram photos of people you never met before? Checking the photos of a celebrity younger than you who looks like from the cover of Vogue and who just started dating a cute guy will probably make your day only worse. Checking the photos of some old friends from highschool with whom you don’t have contact anymore will probably make you feel slightly depressed. Remember that almost no one (expect for a small group of people) posts on Instagram photos from a depressing day. We rather post only the cool moments from our lives. And hey, cool moments happen also in your life, but maybe not then when you scroll through Instagram pics.
2. Life is always greener on the other side
Think about one of your friends whose life is almost perfect, who has a perfect partner, who’s maybe already planning a family and who just moved into a new fancy apartment. Maybe their relationship is really beautiful, maybe they have great jobs and soon will start a family. But believe me, almost every good couple went through some tough times. Sometimes we just don’t see it or we forget it easily. But the truth is that everyone has ups and downs, and sometimes people just don’t talk about this. Focus on your life instead. You would be surprised how many of your friends think that your life is almost perfect.
3. Your friends are for you (and you for them)
Whenever you feel down try to talk to your friends. Of course no one likes it when the second person complains the whole time. But if it’s from time to time, there is nothing wrong about it. Sometimes it’s difficult to talk to others about our own problems. If it’s the case, maybe think about different friends with whom you can talk about specific types of problems. Probably your married friend who’s pregnant will not understand all your relationship problems with a guy who you met a few months ago. But maybe you have another friend who’s going through something similar and will understand all of your worries. Don’t be too shy to talk to others about it. The same applies to all other kinds of problems.
4. And if not, find a psychotherapist
Although I don’t think this would be a good solution for me, many of my friends started psychotherapy recently. And they look very satisfied with their decision. So if you feel that you want to talk to someone about your problems, maybe consider making a psychotherapist appointment?
5. There’s always sunshine after the rain
As I mentioned already before, there are (and there will be) ups and downs in our lives. There are times when everything goes perfectly, we have a nice job, we are in a happy relationship, and we don’t have any family problems. But it’s completely normal that from time to time something happens, which makes us destroyed for some time. The bad times will be soon over and something nice will happen again. Let’s just wait for better times.
6. Embrace the current season of your life
Someone said recently that we should embrace the current season of our life. This sounds very simple, but actually it’s a great advice. For example looking for a new job can be depressing and overwhelming, but try to think about it as a special time in your life, Maybe as unwanted holidays? Imagine, in one year you will already have a very nice but stressful job and you will think about your life from 12 months ago and you will do much to have again such ‘holidays’. So let’s start enjoying our current situation by finding some bright sides about it.
7. Embrace uncertainty
Life is a big surprise and we have no idea how our life will look like in for example 30 years. But isn’t it cool? We still have a lot of years ahead of us, and although at the moment our life can look depressing, in a few days or months many things can suddenly change. So let’s just enjoy the process and look forward to what will happen next.
8. Dreams have their expiration dates
What I learned in the last years is that each dream has its expiration date. This what we are dreaming now about will probably at some point stop being important for us. If there is something you dream about very much just do it. It’s great to have dreams, and it’s even better to fulfill them. Change your dreams into memories before they will expire.
9. Remember about to take the rest
Lastly, we are only humans. Each of us needs time to relax and take a rest. Do something fun or relaxing to forget about your problems or about work. Your mind and body will thank you for it.
10. If you can change something do it
Life is about choices we make. Of course there are plenty of things which we cannot decide about. But there are also things which we can decide about. If there is something that you would like to change in your life and it is possible to change, why not do it now? Starts from small steps and it will go smoothly.
I send you lots of hugs, soon it will be better! Good luck!
