DEVELOPMENTAL CRISIS IN EARLY ADULTHOOD: A ...

“I think I would have said I was a non-person, I don’t think I had any impact
whatsoever, I was just like this worn out pale little blob that used to sit in the corner.”
(Frances, p.8)
“I had been living in this non-reality which had been incredibly difficult.” (Violet,
p.2)
“I had been programmed in a direction, and under the stress of the situation I reverted
to that programme.” (Rachel, p.2)
“He would talk to me like I was a machine and I felt he didn’t think I was good
enough.” (Angela, p.4)
This evidence of depersonalisation in pre-crisis predicaments supports Laing’s
prediction that living behind a persona can bring about a sense of depersonalisation.
Turning Points and Separations
Phase 2 of the crisis dynamic is characterised by growing distance from
the constrictive roles, personas and obligations of Phase 1. This brings about a
psychological separation in which the person no longer identifies with the role
they are in at work or at home, and can conceive of life outside of it, and then this
leads to a physical separation, where the person actively leaves job, partner or
both, and leaves the pre-crisis life structure behind. In certain cases, physical
separation is involuntary (e.g. being fired from a job or being asked for a
divorce), in which case psychological separation occurs after physical separation.
This period of separation is the peak of crisis. Emotions described in this
phase are a mix of positive and negative. Grief at the loss of a relationship and/or
job is common, and anxiety is reported due to facing an uncertain future. But
these negative affects are paradoxically mixed with positive affects including
relief, excitement and hope. This mix of positive and negative affect is a
reflection of the dual nature of mid-crisis, in which an ending is mourned while a
new beginning is opened. O’Connor and Wolfe, in their model of transition, find
a similar central phase of emotional upheaval and confusion, characterised by
anxiety, grief and nervous expectation (O’Connor and Wolfe, 1987).
During this phase the person is renouncing their role-structured sense of
self, in which they defined themselves by their position in occupational and/or
familial structures. Kegan (1982) called this the “Institutional Self”. Preliminary
strikes of experimentation and exploration may be underway to develop a new
117