15 Signs You’ve Entered Into a Quarter-Life Crisis

Many of us have heard the phrase, “midlife crisis.” Crises don’t just occur as you pummel through adulthood; they also occur when you’re entering it. A quarter-life crisis usually occurs anywhere between your twenties and thirties. It’s a time where uncertainty rises and you begin to reconsider your life’s decisions. A quarter-life crisis is usually triggered by the stress of becoming an adult.

Here are 15 signs you’ve entered into a quarter-life crisis:

1. The night before a long weekend feels like Christmas.

2. You’ve developed a daily routine that makes you question any tasks not on the agenda. If a friend asks you to hang out after work, you calculate what time you’ll be able to go to bed at. Also:

3. The highlight of your day is bedtime.

4. Your responsibilities trigger anxiety. This includes work responsibilities, social events and anything that doesn’t involve laying on the couch in your pajamas.

5. You search for new jobs on a weekly basis.

6. You’re actively counting down the days (or years) until you can retire.

7. You spend your lunch hour researching vacations.

8. Other frequent Google searches include looking at houses you can’t afford, cities you’ll never move to, and how to pay off 30 years of student loans payments in 5.

9. You realize that your monthly expenses heavily outweigh your monthly income.

10. You create a budget that you never actually follow.

11. Your grocery list still includes frozen pizzas, macaroni and a variety of too much cheese.

12. Nothing irritates you more than the sound of a text alert.

13. When people ask you about your job, you have no idea how to explain what you actually do all day.

14. You’re approximately 5 years, a few jobs and two more mental breakdowns away from where you thought you’d be at this point in your life.

15. You found this article as a result of Googling, “quarter-life crisis.” Yes, it’s a real thing and yes, you’re probably on the verge of it.

Your life may not be turning out how you planned, but at the end of the day it will turn out. Keep pushing through and know there are thousands of people just like you, who are trying to do the same. In the meantime, only 42 more years until I’m quitting my job and buying that beach house.