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Beginning at birth and lasting until around 18 months of age, this stage is the first on Erikson's psychosocial stage. I resolved this issue with mistrust. My earliest memory is of standing in my crib, crying. My mother came over to me and slapped me. When I questioned her later in life, my mother said she was very tired and irritated by my crying. She said I was no more than 18 months old, likely less. Between this being my first memory and the other issues I had to deal with from my mother, I believe this happened frequently. This affected me by not allowing me to trust adults in my life, thus resolving this stage with mistrust. According to the textbook, "Baby develops sense of whether world is a good and safe place." A baby is mostly at home, so being at home in a place that does not feel safe will lead to mistrust.

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From about 12-18 months and lasting until 3 years of age, this is the stage in which children learn how to do things for themselves. They may not do it perfectly, but they are learning the actions involved. When I was this age, I was not taught how to do things on my own. My mother thought it was easier to do them right the first time. Unfortunately, this lead to feelings of shame and doubt in my capabilities that follow me to this day. "Child develops a balance of independence and self-sufficiency over shame and doubt." is how the stage is described in the textbook. This makes sense because if you do not learn how to do something basic as a young child, then you will feel shame and doubt later on in life.

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This is the stage where children are beginning to enter school and be away from their families about3 years old and until around 6 years of age. They will make new friends and social connections. In the textbook it says, "Family is still primary, but other children become more important." I began to play softball and gymnastics at this point in my life and was able to show some initiative in these activities while also making new friends. I left this stage with a good amount of initiative.

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From puberty to young adulthood is the stage industry vs. inferiority. This is a difficult stage because "Child must learn skills of the culture or face feelings of incompetence.". This age is very difficult because children are facing an enormous amount of hormones and they just do not know how to handle the flood. I believe I came through this stage with only a slight amount of inferiority. That feeling passes the older I get. Inferiority makes me feel as though I am faking and not good enough.

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Stage 5: Identity vs. Identity Confusion

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Stage 5: Identity vs. Identity Confusion

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Erikson's fifth stage begins in puberty and lasts through young adulthood. This is the stage where a person tried to find who they really are, how they see themselves, and how they would like to be seen. I never really had any issues with finding who I was. I always felt pretty secure, but I also felt that I was a fraud or a faker. It has taken me many years to begin to feel secure in my identity.

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This sixth stage of Erikson's psychosocial theory. Occurring in young adulthood, this is where you are typically searching for a mate due to feelings of needing a partner in life. The textbook describes this stage as when a "person seeks to make commitments to others or may suffer from isolation and self-absorption.". I married young, at 19, so this is a stage I feel that I did not go through for very long. During my marriage, we have grown in our intimacy and not feeling isolated from each other. This can happen when you are busy raising a family.

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Middle adulthood marks the stage where a person needs to feel accomplished instead of feeling as though they are stuck in one spot, unable to achieve or excel. I am currently in this stage. This is why I am finishing my education to get my teaching license and why I am always looking for continuing education opportunities and professional developments. This makes sense because the textbook tells us that, "Mature adult is concerned with establishing and guiding the next generation or else feels personal impoverishment."

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The final stage is known as Integrity vs. Despair. At this stage in late adulthood, a person will either accept their inevitable death because they had a fulfilling life, or go into a depression because they have many regrets from the earlier years. The good news is that this can change! According to our textbook, "At any point in the life span, development could shift in a positive direction, and a crisis might be successfully resolved and a new strength developed.". I hope when I get to this stage I will leave my life with integrity, secure in know that my life was worth living and I did many good things.