What is an Identity Crisis

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What is an Identity Crisis?

Are you unsure of your role in life? Do you feel like you don't know the 'real you'? If you answer yes to the previous questions, you may be

experiencing an identity crisis. TheoristErik Eriksoncoined the term identity crisis and believed that it was one of the most important conflicts

people face in development.

According to Erikson, an identity crisis is a time of intensive analysis and exploration of different ways of looking at oneself. Erikson's interest in

identity began in childhood. Raised Jewish, Erikson appeared very Scandinavian and often felt that he was an outsider of both groups. His later

studies of cultural life among the Yurok of northern California and the Sioux of South Dakota helped formalize Erikson's ideas about identity

development and identity crisis.

Erikson described identity as "a subjective sense as well as an observable quality of personal sameness and continuity, paired with some belief in the

sameness and continuity of some shared world image. As a quality of unself-conscious living, this can be gloriously obvious in a young person who

has found himself as he has found his communality. In him we see emerge a unique unification of what is irreversibly given--that is, body type and

temperament, giftedness and vulnerability, infantile models and acquired ideals--with the open choices provided in available roles, occupational

possibilities, values offered, mentors met, friendships made, and first sexual encounters." (Erikson, 1970.)

Research on Identity

InErik Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, the emergence of an identity crisis occurs during the teenage years in which people struggle

between feelings of identity versus role confusion. Researcher James Marcia (1966, 1976, 1980) has expanded upon Erikson's in itial theory.

According to Marcia and his colleagues, the balance between identity and confusion lies in making a commitmentto an identity. Marcia also

developed an interview method to measure identity as well as four different identity statuses. This methods looks at three different areas offunctioning: occupational role, beliefs and values and sexuality.

Identity Statuses

Identity achievement occurs when an individual has gone through an exploration of different identities and made a commitment to one.

Moratorium is the status of a person who is actively involved in exploring different identities, but has not made a commitment.

Foreclosure status is when a person has made a commitment without attempting identity exploration.

Identity diffusion occurs when there is neither an identity crisis or commitment.

Researchers have found that those who have made a strong commitment to an identity tend to be happier and healthier than those who have not.

Those with a status of identity diffusion tend to feel out of place in the world and don't pursue a sense of identity.

In today's rapidly changing world, identity crises are more common today than in Erikson's day. Exploring different aspects of yourself in the

different areas of life, including your role at work, within the family, and in romantic relationships, can help strengthen your personal identity.

1. References: A psychosocial state or condition of disorientation and role confusion occurring especially in adolescents as a resultof conflicting internal and external experiences, pressures, and expectations and often producing acute anxiety.

2. An analogous state of confusion occurring in a social structure, such as an institution or a corporation.

Read more:http://www.answers.com/topic/identity-crisis#ixzz1ny5Kvu1v
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10. Per Se USA

They have the Daily menus with 9 courses of

US cuisine. Their special meal is the Snake

River Farm beef with crispy bone marrow and

spring lamb with butter poached morels. Theowners Thomas Keller and Jonathan Benno

no doubt did the wonderful job in putting this

restaurant awesome enough to be in top ten.

9. Arzak Spain

This restaurant is after the name of the owner Juan Mari Arzak. This restaurant is located in San Sebastian and the

owner and his daughter are putting a great effort in making this restaurant better. The owner has been awarded the

Universal Basque award for being highly innovative in his dishes. Their specialty is the Lobster with white olive oil

and smoked white tuna figs and pine nuts.
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8. Daniel USA

It is located in manhattans Upper East Side. This is a French-American restaurant and they have the best menu for

both vegetarians and carnivores.

7. Alinea USA

Do try the dishes like American peanut butter and jelly sandwich served with bread wrapped round a grape on a

specially made spike, Youll know why is it in the top ten.
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6. Osteria Francescana- Italy

Due to the Massimo Bottura of this restaurant, it has come into the top 50 restaurants in the restaurant magazine.

Bottura is an awesome looking dish with colors and texture to be loved. This restaurant has the walls with great

artistic designs and foods.

5. Mugaritz Spain

Mugaritz is also in San Sebastian Spain. And the chef Andoni Aduriz is apprenticed at El Bulli. Their daily menu is

full of mouth watering dishes like warm lettuce hearts soaked in vanilla brine, sheeps milk curd seasoned with hay

and toasted fern and beef roasted with embers of vine cutting.
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4. El Celler de Can Roca Spain

The chefs Joan Roca, Josep and Jordi made this restaurant awesome. They have a large dining hall and a wine

cellar that gives customer an audio and visual journey of five wine regions.

3. The Fat Duck- UK

The Fat Duck restaurant has the most unusual dishes in their daily menus like Snail porridge, Sardine on toast

sorbet, Bacon and egg ice cream and salmon poached with liquorices. They have the starter of jelly and beetroot.

This restaurant scored the maximum in Good Food Guide.
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2. El Bulli Spain

Ferran Adria has worked a lot to put this restaurant in the top 50s, his knowledge has influenced a lot of other chefs.

Many of them have taken his techniques and ideas to make their own restaurants.

1. Noma

Denmark

Its specialty is the Nordic cuisine and has the classical Scandinavian cuisine with many great dishes. The Chef

Rene Redzepi runs this restaurant and gave it the name by the acronym of two Danish words nor from Nordic and

ma from food

Dinner in the Sky
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Well technically it can be dinner, lunch, breakfast or any other meal you like, as long as you have the money and can secure

a surface of 500 square meters to install a huge crane. Dinner in the Sky offers people the opportunity to turn somethingordinary into a unique and memorable event.

Toilet Restaurant

Let me just start by saying that eating is not the first thing that comes to mind when you walk into this place. But ever since

The Toilet Restaurant opened in Taipei, Taiwan it has become one of the citys major attractions and the owner is nowthinking of opening an entire network of restaurants all across Asia.
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In the Toilet Restaurant everything makes you think only ofwell a toilet. Clients sit on toilet bowl-shaped stools, eat their

food out of dishes resembling male urinals, toilet bowls or bathtubs. Even the food itself is designed to look likeyou know,and if you dont check out the chocolate ice-cream in the photo. I for one wouldnt go there to grab some grub, butapparently kids and teenagers love it.

I wonder what the toilets look like in the Toilet Restaurant, restaurants maybe?

Ithaa Restaurant

Set in the natural paradise of the Maldives, Ithaa is the worlds first underwater restaurant that allows its visitors to enjoytheir meal and observe the beautiful underwater scenery at the same time. The mostly acrylic restaurant stands at 5 metersbellow the sea level offering its customers a 270 degrees panoramic view of the coral reef that surrounds it.

Ithaa can only accommodate 14 people at a time so be sure to book your table in advance if you plan to spend your holidayat the Hilton Maldives complex. It will cost you up to $300 but at least you know youve eaten in a truly exclusive location.
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What is an Identity Crisis