Social Pressure

We are all seeking to develop and maintain our identity, and this is done within a social context. Once we have been attracted to a social environment, and invested some time in it, we become committed, and feel obliged to behave in ways that, to some degree, conform.

There are, of course, many social environments in which we live, and pressure can be exerted by culture, religion, family, friends, hobbies etc.. If we try to conform to all these pressures, we can end up having multiple identities (this is quite normal!). However, the bigger the disparity between these identities and our natural selves, the greater our level of stress is likely to be.

The western world is largely an ESTJ culture.

Return to Mid-Life Crisis
Return to Psychiatry On-Line