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Mid-twenties Crisis

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17:30 / 03.03.02

Mid-twenties Crisis:

an overexcessive amount of angst due to career distress, day trading, freelancing, existentialism, and/or lack of sex
usually obvious by blatant attempts by the sufferer to learn new tricks, get involved in extreme sports, or display more evidence of subculture participation

Think this is real?

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

17:37 / 03.03.02

I actually picked up a magazine that had an article on "First Quarter Crisis" and how to deal with it. I don't think THAT was serious, but it will be the next Big Thing in our vicitimization of ourselves, won't it?

How the hell did human beings make it before we had a way to tell that every year of our life was a different, definable crisis?

"Oh Ghods...I've turned 27 and a half...my life is OVER! Why God, why?!?! We had a deal!!!"

18:59 / 03.03.02

what do you mean by is this real? plenty of people hit their mid twenties and react in a way described by this para with some accuracy. what else more does it need to be real? it's not going to show up on an x-ray if that's what you mean. the site this came from is a list of words and concepts made up by the users, how "real" is any of that going to be?

19:14 / 03.03.02

it's coded now though. That's about all it takes for reality in my bizare little world.

Only thing left to do is prove it bloody well wrong. Hardcore.

20:43 / 03.03.02

It's as real as the "mid-life crisis". I suspect it comes from the same roots, just things move at a faster pace these days.

What I wonder is, what happens to those who have mid-twenties crises once they reach the stage where they would have had mid-life crises? Do they have another one?

God, not another crisis to look forward to...

20:50 / 03.03.02

As i have been told this is also a symptom of Saturn returning- 26-27 year cycle saturn returns to roughly where it was when you were born leading to a re-evaluation of were you are and where you want to be.

09:03 / 04.03.02

Saturn's orbital period is 29.5 years.

Jupiter's orbital period is 12 years, though; that might explain puberty.

Less searchable M0rd4nt

09:18 / 04.03.02

I'm 28 and I'm having the time of my fucking LIFE. I've got prospects, a partner, my health, I can still handle the drugs, and all is fan-bloody-tastic. (No reason for saying that- just thought you lot were looking so mooseyfaced I'd add a little envy. Oooh, schadenfru- shaudeunde- shedyua- that German thing. Yummy.)

09:50 / 04.03.02

I can't believe the level of ignorance here. Mid-Twenties crises are real! I should know because I had one. Sure it lasted through most of my teens and through all my twenties and it was mostly a fashion thing, but that still counts. right?

09:57 / 04.03.02

Mid-twenties crisis? Do you mean here in 5 years when I turn 25, I'll do some stupid thing like quit my good-paying job, drop my siginificant other like a bad habit, buy a sporty red convertible and drive off into the sunset?

But, what will I do when I have a midlife crisis? I will have already done all the fun stuff.

09:57 / 04.03.02

People are adolescents until they're fourty or fifty. Except in those countries where they don't live that long.

19:07 / 04.03.02

When you hit a mid 20's crisis you display more evidence of subculture participation? ::giggle::

If you stay a teen once you hit 20 they just diagnos you with Borderline Personality Disorder, no?

19:08 / 04.03.02

Depends what you were like as a teen, I guess...

I remember having a bit of a jagged time around 26, 27, when I realised I could no longer describe myself as 'mid-20s' - but then, that was probably about the loomsome approach of the big 3 0. And 30 ain't nearly so bad from this side of it.

[ 04-03-2002: Message edited by: Ganesh v4.2 ]

19:12 / 04.03.02

Non-working reply. Ignore.

[ 04-03-2002: Message edited by: Egar Reversed ]

19:14 / 04.03.02

Nope, that ain't the way it works...

11:04 / 26.03.04

This is my experience of the quarter life crisis.

I started not to trust the people around me. I felt everyone had their own agenda and would walk all over you to get what they want. I had a major blow out with one girl out of my group of friends. This resulted in spliting the group up. Though it was hard in the beginning to stand my ground, it was for the best, I was going to be my own person from now and wasn't going to conform to keep the peace. I started to be come less open to people and decided to be more private as I started to feel my peers were draining me.

Also my career was wasn't going anywhere fast,I was going throught a repeditive cycle. I felt like I was banging my head off a brick wall.

Not to mention in my early 20's I dated guys a few years older than me that were already in the throws of their quarter life crisis. Needless to say I came off the worst as they treated me badly.

So what was I going to do about........

I'm now 25, I'll be 26 in a couple of months. I got to thinking "where will I be when I'm 30" coz my early 20's had already flew by.

I quit my repeditive job, I did a detox in the friends department, and took a break from men. And took a couple of months out to decide what I wanted to do..

I am now start a new job with much better prospects, I'm in control of my love life and I know who my friends are!!!! One thing I'll say is that althought this stage is tough, you will learn alot, so try to take something for each experience, good or bad! Although it may feel impossible sometimes, only you can make the changes (It took me awhile to realise that) You can do anything you want if you put your mind to it...

I am looking forward to the next stage in my life. Life is full of possibilities!!!

Ex

11:17 / 26.03.04

Oooh, schadenfru- shaudeunde- shedyua- that German thing. Yummy.

I cherish a malicious satisfaction that I get to live in the best of all cities while other people have to be in miserable grey outflung bits of London.
Yes: I've got Swindonfreude.

11:28 / 26.03.04

I take guilty pleasure in people ignorantly ordering third rate wines in restaurants. That's right, chardonnayfreude.

11:59 / 26.03.04

Douglas Coupland's definition from Generation X:

'Mid-Twenties Breakdown: A period of mental collapse occurring in one's twenties, often caused by an inability to function outside of school or structured environments coupled with a realization of one's essential aloneness in the world. Often marks introduction into the ritual of pharmaceutical usage.'

Dwinylou, did you find yourself developing any pharmaceutical usage rituals?

Ex

12:05 / 26.03.04

Smoothly (any relation of Hugo?), you have half-inched my pun. I am therefore going to work out my mid-twenties frustrations (caused by ritual use of Douglas Coupland) on you by challenging you to one big megafuckoff face-pounding.

Everyone else can watch and laugh, because they have ShowDownFreude.

12:11 / 26.03.04

Another Doug definition:
'Celebrity Schadenfreude: Lurid thrills derived from talking about celebrity deaths.'

Ex is obviously getting lurid thrills from talking about pounding Smoothly Weaving's face, which might end up in his death. The question therefore is, is Smoothy Weaving a celebrity? If so, could this then be celebrity schadenfreude, and is celebrity schadenfreude an obvious symptom of a mid-twenties breakdown, or can it happen to anyone?

15:03 / 26.03.04

apropos of nothing, save for my age, around 23-24 i wanted to get a tattoo and pierce my lip. that is so not me.
this is, of course, not to mention the general WHAM! attack of overwhelming, paralyzing existentialism, and the feeling that one's best years are behind one.
and let's just not even mention the overwhelming fondness for all things early 90's.

15:08 / 26.03.04

Fortunately for you, pegged pants are SO back in.

Tuna Ghost: Pratt knot hero

15:21 / 26.03.04

A comedian on television the other day said that people in their twenties don't know a damn thing about anything and that all we're good for is standing around looking better than people in their thirties and forties.

I've been getting the feeling that maybe I don't know half as much as I think I do for a few years now...but that's cool. As far as I can tell, nobody else has much of an idea of what's going on either. At least I still look good.

15:54 / 26.03.04

that's fine, cos all i want to *do* is stand around and look good. i don't want any freakin' responsibilities. and yet, i keep having to have them! *pout*

16:06 / 26.03.04

Oh, you poor young things. I seem to recall I was having crises des nerfs all over the place in my teens and twenties. You'll all be fine, if you can just weather the storm and get to your fabulous forties.

My life turned around recently when I read Mordant Carnival's self help publication "Better Living through Barbelith and Barcelona". Chapter Six revolutionised my sex life (and the cat won't stop smiling) and I have followed the guidance in Chapter Ten ("Are You a Black or a Deep Purple Nail Varnish Person?") slavishly with wondrous results. She has the secrets you need to share...

17:11 / 26.03.04

Arggghhhhh! I've had fucking mental tardia, my chapel piraluyyyaaaarraggh is coming down around my mind! Must find drugs and fight, fight, fight!

Fight the Archons, FIGHT!

Whisky Priestess

17:43 / 26.03.04

The only sign of my mid-late-twenties crisis is that
a) I am poor, poor poor and envy anyone with two pennies to rub together, and
b) I take guilty pleasure in watching US-based horror fantasy comedy series. I suppose you could call it Whedonfreude ...

20:24 / 26.03.04

Does anyone know if this mid-twenties crisis thing ever ends? I appear to still be having mine and I’m 35 next week.

Not too mention all my younger friends seem to be twice as sorted as me. Damn the young, they always have one up on us middle aged types!

(please excuse rant/wallow- due to beer, a bad job interview & splitting up from ‘young’ girlfriend, boo hoo…)

Solitaire Rose as Tom Servo

17:20 / 27.03.04

I think that with our culture moving so fast that we are in a perpetual state of near crisis at all times. We're constantly being shown people who are doing better than us, happier than us, more together than us, and if we just buy something or do something that costs money, we can be one of them. When I was in my mid 20's, I was working two jobs to keep up, a single dad who had no time to do anything but work and take care of my son, and I had a number of small "What the fuck have I done with my life" moments.

They come now as well, but at least I know that they are imposed on me by people who want me to feel bad enough to buy something.

unheimlich manoeuvre

17:52 / 27.03.04

What others think of us is a matter of life and death, writes Alain de Botton

Society does seem to be constantly tettering on the brink of breakdown. From nuclear holocaust, to miners strike, to housing market to internet bubble and global terrorism.

...it's so hard for us to imagine a new global utopian project based on work and cooperation, that the only way we can entertain the thought is to pay a mental price of extreme catastrophe. What fascinates me about disaster films is how circumstances of vast catastrophe suddenly bring about social cooperation.

S

07:48 / 29.03.04

I am living testament to a mid twenties crisis, although a think 'crisis' is probably too strong a word. I think a mid-twenties crisis is of lesser value than a mid-life crisis becasue there is less at stake (house, kids, wife etc). My mid-twenties crisis is essentially self-inflicted and in a way almost planned. By having a mid-twenties crisis now I am safeguarding against the need of having one at mid-life. Because a mid-life crisis is essentially about regrets. So to avoid having one, I am trying to live without regrets in my mid-twenties when it is easier to do so (refer again to house, kids, wife etc).

So with the goal of living without regrets in my twenties in mind, I have quit my socially respected career job and I am going travelling. And I have also taken up endurance sports (Ironman, Marathons). Endurance sports events seem to be a haven for mid-life crisees looking at the average age of contestants.

However, I still have no idea what I want to do with my life, and thats really annoying. I'm 25 now. From what I've read on the phases of life, the age of 28 is usually a turning point. At 28 you finally say goodbye to your youth forever, and get on with the 'business' of life.

08:36 / 29.03.04

>I have quit my socially respected career job and I am going travelling.

Ooh, I am planning to do that next year. How are you finding it so far?

A beautiful tunnel of ghosts

18:29 / 29.03.04

From what I've read on the phases of life, the age of 28 is usually a turning point. At 28 you finally say goodbye to your youth forever, and get on with the 'business' of life.

Wait... 28? 28?! *starts counting on fingers, slowly at first and then frantically* But I'm... 'Business' of life? *turns and runs back down road after moving bus* Wait! WAAAIIITTT! THIS ISN'T MY STOP!

My youth is still with me, although he hates what I've done with my life and is constantly reminding me of it.

18:38 / 29.03.04

I'm 28, but if I hear something on the TV about 'young people', 'the nation's youth' or similar, my ears prick up as if they're talking about me. Sad really.
No sign of a bona fide crisis yet though. I always was a little bit backward.

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