identity crisis

noun

1. a period or episode of psychological distress, often occurring in adolescence but sometimes in adulthood, when a person seeks a clearer sense of self and an acceptable role in society.

2. confusion as to goals and priorities.

   The company is undergoing an identity crisis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of identity crisis¹

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

For a restaurant better known for cornbread and checkerboards than market volatility, the whole thing had the air of an identity crisis unfolding in real time.

From Salon

Their decades-long friendship, now strained, reflects a wider identity crisis for the industry they helped build: What is a mushroom, really, and who gets to decide?

From Los Angeles Times

But the group continues to have an identity crisis.

From Los Angeles Times

If you enjoyed your job and found purpose in it, the loss can be devastating and bring a grief-filled identity crisis.

From Salon

The Hindustan Times newspaper called it a film grappling with "an identity crisis, an overlong run time and a confused mess of a script".

From BBC