My Erikson Development Timeline by

Trust vs. Mistrust

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:37:13 UTC

Erikson's first stage, Trust vs Mistrust is probably the most important stage in a person's life. It is what shapes a person's whole life around a single caregiver at the time. We give our trust to someone someone who we barely know and if they mistreat us, they can shape our entire life for the worst. "Erikson believed mistrust could contaminate all aspects of one's life and deprive the individual of love and fellowship with others." Now, if the caregiver treats us kindly, we can start to trust others because it all starts with one person.

My caregivers would treat me with kindness. They would comfort me when I cried, like fed me, changed me, sung to me, and played with me when I was upset. Except for my great-uncle who apparently thought it would be hilarious to mess with me after my mom or grandma had just got me to calm down to make me cry again but apparently, he did that to all the babies.

Autonomy Vs Shame and Doubt

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:42:37 UTC

Stage two of Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt. During this stage, children start to explore the world around them. They try to get control of what is around them. This stage is usually when toddlers start to move and explore the world. This stage should allow the children to explore without any shame or doubt.

Now I do not remember this stage in my life. I do believe that I was more or less allowed to explore without being shamed as I am not able to explore as an adult with feeling shame or doubt.

Initiative Vs Guilty

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:46:58 UTC

During this stage, children are learning how to assert their power and control over the world through play and other social interactions. This stage either has children feeling good about the decisions they have made or have them feeling bad about those decisions. Now this is a tricky stage because if this stage is not done correctly, the child could feel guilty about every decision they make for the rest of their lives so it would be nice to have a balance early on rather than trying to work on it later because while you should not feel guilty about every decision you make, there will always be ones that will make you feel guilty no matter what.

I do not remember a time when I took initiative but I remember feeling guilty about a lot of the decisions I made and I was never made to feel guilty like my parents never made me feel guilty, I just always felt guilty for some reason.

Industry vs. Inferiority

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:47:18 UTC

During this stage, children start to focus on the outside world, such as school. They start to compare themselves to others and start to feel feelings of pride or inferiority. "They either develop a sense of pride and accomplishment in their schoolwork, sports, social activities, and family life or they feel inferior and inadequate when they don't measure up."

I always felt inferior to my peers and I think it all comes down to my 1st grade teacher always comparing me to my peers when I was behind them in different things. This was also around the time that my mom started having seizures and I felt inferior to my friends because they were out having fun with their parents and I was at home taking care of mine.

Identity vs. Role Confusion

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:53:31 UTC

I believe that this is the second most important stage in a person's life. This is the stage where an adolescence find out who they really are. This stage is where the person ask "who am I?" and "what do I want to do?" They will explore different roles and ideas, set goals and attempt to discover their "adult" selves. If this stage is done successfully, adolescents have a strong sense of identity and remain true to their beliefs and vaules, no matter the problems or other's persepctives. If this stage is done unsucessfully, adolescent will have what is called "role confusion" where they do not know their identitiy and are confused about the future. "Teenagers who struggle to adopt a positive role will likely struggle to "find" themselves as adults"

I think that I really found my identity as an adult. I knew at a young age that I wanted to help people and wanted to work with children. I have always had a good relationship with children no matter the age but at this age I remember my aunt having a foster child that was very shy around new people and I remember it taking me very little time to get her to warm up to me.

Intimacy vs. Isolation

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:53:50 UTC

This stage is where adults start to form good or poor relationships with others. People learn to share personal details and listen to others during this stage. If someone doesn't achieve this stage, they will likely isolate themselves.

I am in this stage of my life and would like to believe that I am achieving this stage well.

Generativity vs. Stagnation

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:54:14 UTC

During this stage, middle-aged adults strive to nurture things that will outlast them, like parenting children or fostering positive changes that benefit others. This stage will either have people making their mark on the world or feeling like they failed to find a way to contribute and feel disconnected.

I hope by this stage that I have made my mark on the world and have change the world.

Integrity vs. Despair

ssadler9_ — 2023-11-27 14:54:33 UTC

At this stage, we start to look back at our lives and either feel satisfied that life was good or regretting choices we make in life. If we live with integrity, we are able look back and feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment. However, if we live in despair, we look back and have feeling of regret and shame.

I would hope that when I get to this stage in life, I can look at my life with integrity and pride.