DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

Phase 1 – Early Crisis: Locked In
As with the Career Woman Crisis cluster and the All Consuming Crisis
cluster, Phase 1 for this cluster involves being in a highly-pressured, but
motivationally stagnant, work life.
Stuck: Buried Under Work
Jack described his life before the crisis as “the path of least resistance” (p.8).
He became an accountant in his early twenties, but found himself getting more and
more worn down by life. He described his life situation as “stagnating, very
stagnant.” (p.2), suggesting a lack of dynamism and growth. He was just “going
through the motions” (p.3), feeling flat, and without ambition or goals:
“I didn’t really seek things out in life that much. I didn’t have ambitions, or I didn’t
have set goals, even in my work, that was a bit of an accident.” (p.7)
He uses a metaphor of feeling dead, or like a ghost:
“I did feel a little bit dead, a bit like a ghost sometimes. I remember sometimes I
would go for a walk around, or a little wander around, I wouldn’t really be feeling
anything, I wouldn’t feel like I was even there.” (p.3)
“I think it felt a bit like stepping out of life a little bit, and sometimes it felt like I
didn’t have feelings. It was like being a ghost.” (p.3)
Dan was working in the city making promotional films for large companies.
He worked long hours and weekends. He also had recently had his first child with his
wife Belinda. Belinda gave up her job in order to look after the child, but gets postnatal
depression, which makes childcare very difficult. He describes a difficult,
stressful period:
“So I became a dad, changed career, our disposable income went down by a third, so
it was quite a tough period.” (p.1)
Dan’s work is taking up so much of his time that he has little time for family or
friends. He said “I just buried myself in the work.” (p.1), and reflected on this as
being caught up in the rat race:
“I’ve never been particularly materialistic, but I was getting caught up in that rat race
of proving myself.” (p.9)
Phase 2 – Mid Crisis: Separation and Escape
In this cluster, the two men get fired from their jobs, which results in midcrisis
starting suddenly, without warning, and without prior mental disengagement.
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