life crisis


life crisis

any disruptive life event, possibly entailing the loss of important relationships and social status, which requires personal adjustment and which may threaten the integrity of the SELF and its social relationships. An indicative list is bereavement, divorce, marriage, job loss or change, disability, retirement, migration, eviction. Because these may involve STRESS and anxiety, which are implicated in the causation of some diseases, life crises are an important area of study for the SOCIOLOGY OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE, as well as being a central factor for consideration in the fields of COUNSELLING and PSYCHOTHERAPY.