The Nature of Adolescence (An analysis of the 4 stages of adolescence connected to my life)

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Recommended: Reflections on Erikson's psychosocial stages

When growing up, we all face the difficulty of finding who we really are as a person. This can be referred to as Identity Diffusion. Described in Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages, the individual has not yet experienced an identity crisis, nor has he made any commitment to a vocation or set of beliefs. There is also no indication that he or she is actively trying to make a commitment. According to psychologist Erik Erikson, identity diffusion has 4 major stages. Those components include: intimacy, a diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity. Even if you may not be aware of it, everyone really does experience these stages when growing up in life. In my life, I have gone through the four stages referred to as intimacy, a diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity. To begin, I myself have faced the problem of intimacy, but maybe not in the typical notion one thinks when hearing that word. This has more to do with the fear of commitment and close relationships. Since a young age, I have always seen movies, read books, and witnessed in person the relationship between a girl and guy. Disney movies often depict a fairy tale ending where two strangers meet, fall in love, and live happily ever after. You see movies set in high school where two people are in love and share the experiences of growing up together. But once I got to the ages of 14-17, I realized that relationships are a lot more complex and difficult. Every has that “first love” which is more like a big crush, and that happened to me my freshman year of high school. As you probably assumed, it did not turn out like I had imagined, causing my views to change for the future. When something like this happens, one deve... ... middle of paper ... ...shman, I felt that I had a new sense of adulthood because I was finally in high school. I started lying to my parents and basically doing the exact opposite of what they wanted me to do. Because of this, I started to develop a “not-so-good” relationship with them. After this stage in my life though, I realized that disobeying my parents and having a fake kind of identity was not benefitting me in any way. After this, I then decided to change my ways and I have definitely learned from it too. All in all, these four elements make up the development of adolescents. Some people may have gone through all these stages already in life, while others may face them in the years to come. Intimacy, a diffusion of time perspective, diffusion of industry, and negative identity are just a few stages you will face in life and the more you understand them, the faster you can learn.

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