The Human Life Cycle: What Stages and How to Face Them

George Alvarez 25-10-2023
George Alvarez

More than a succession of events, our life is made of changes that imply acceptance and mourning in our human life cycle, The key to overcoming these moments of crisis is to return to the center of our being and recover our hidden capacities.

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Human existence, although it follows a thread of continuity, is discontinuous, with phases and moments in which we are faced with new challenges. From birth to the end of life, there is a succession of constant changes. We are always in the process of being something new, something different, of transcending ourselves.

The central tendency of the human being is the search for a meaning to his existence. The formation of the person is possible to the extent that he overcomes the typical crises that arise throughout the different stages of life and give meaning to his life path.

Existential crises in the human life cycle

The original meaning of the word crisis is "judgment", as in a final decision about a process. Broadly speaking, the closing of an event.

Crisis, therefore, resolves a situation at some stage of life, but at the same time defines the entry into a new situation that presents its own problems. In the most common sense, crisis is that new situation and all that it brings with it.

A priori

A priori we cannot evaluate a crisis as something positive or negative, because it offers the same possibilities of good or bad resolution. However, a person's biographical crises tend to be clearly beneficial.

One of the common characteristics of all crises is their sudden and accelerated nature. Crises never come slowly and always seem to be the opposite of all permanence and stability.

The biographical or personal crisis delimits a situation that takes us into an accelerated phase of existence. Full of dangers and threats, but also of possibilities for personal renewal.

Dangers and Opportunities

In every crisis of life, danger and opportunity present themselves at the same time. One does not live trapped in a false personality forever in childhood or adolescence, but changes with time. Therefore, the possibilities for success in a crisis are almost unlimited.

Another characteristic of a crisis is that as soon as it arises the human being seeks a solution to get out of it. Therefore, it is possible to say that the crisis and the attempt to solve it occur at the same time.

Within the common characteristics of people, there are multiple differences in facing crises. Some crises are more normal than others. Some are those typical ones for which there are "ready" solutions. Others are unique by nature and need a real effort of invention and creation to emerge from them.

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Some crises pass quickly, others are more permanent; we know when they start, but rarely when they end. The solution to the crisis can also be of very different kinds, sometimes temporary and sometimes permanent.

From the psychopathology of reaction and trauma, a difference has been made between life events, referring to "we have all been through them," and traumatic events, which are crisis triggers.

Nowadays there is a lot of talk about "critical events", such as divorce and job loss; and events that are part of the common human experience, but which, in some cases, can precipitate a crisis. These, in any case, will require a great deal of effort on the part of the affected person to adapt.

What do biographical crises teach us?

Perhaps the most interesting thing about existential crises is that they force a person to connect with his or her own chronological history. Crises make you stop, look at your life trajectory and each stage of life. They also make you review your table of priorities and redefine your desires.

In a capitalist world where we scatter in search of immediate satisfactions (anchored in the impulse for the "now", without past or future), we contemplate how our temporal field is impoverished .

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The 4 stages of the human life cycle

Childhood

In order for the child to grow up properly and be able to enter the social world, it is important that the child not only has a loving, warm, and caring environment. It must also provide the proper boundaries and the ideal environment for the child to feel safe.

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Sharing as much time as possible with our children and avoiding "cyber-cangaroos" such as television, consoles, tablets, and cell phones as much as possible will help their development in future stages.

Adolescence and youth

According to different studies worldwide, happy adolescents, when they reach adulthood, enjoy better physical and mental health .

Therefore, it is necessary to provide adolescents with tools so that they can interact independently with the outside world, respecting their need for privacy and helping them foster healthy bonds with their friends.

With the presence of technology increasingly present in everyone's lives and more in the lives of young people, today more than ever it is important to reinforce outdoor activities. Other ideals are to stimulate reading, thinking, and to continue sharing relationship spaces with our teenagers.

Maturity

This is perhaps the most stable period of the human being. The sense of "self" spreads, the person becomes an active part of society, and work shapes the individual's life.

Faced with the problems of an increasingly fast-paced life, it is essential to try to put together the puzzle of our demands and desires with a minimum of balance. For this, it is very important to have space and time for you.

Consider:

  • The personal crisis precipitates us into an accelerated phase of our existence and presents itself, at the same time, as an opportunity to resolve it.
  • They put us at the center of our being and force us to look at ourselves. They force us to live in our time and tell our personal story.
  • The key to healthy adaptation is to find our own capacities to get out of difficulties.

Final considerations about the human life cycle

The stages of human development are a series of biological, physical, emotional, psychological, and social changes that people go through over the course of their lives.

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George Alvarez

George Alvarez is a renowned psychoanalyst who has been practicing for over 20 years and is highly regarded in the field. He is a sought-after speaker and has conducted numerous workshops and training programs on psychoanalysis for professionals in the mental health industry. George is also an accomplished writer and has authored several books on psychoanalysis that have received critical acclaim. George Alvarez is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and expertise with others and has created a popular blog on Online Training Course in Psychoanalysis that is widely followed by mental health professionals and students around the world. His blog provides a comprehensive training course that covers all aspects of psychoanalysis, from theory to practical applications. George is passionate about helping others and is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of his clients and students.