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Erikson´s Theory of Development: Story of My Life Essay

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No matter who you are I believe that everyone will go through stages in their life that will get them to where they are on today. I am a person who has a very interesting story; this is the first time it will be told in full. We were asked to use Erik Erikson’s theory of development as a guideline to telling the story of our lives. At first I was very nervous; however, I soon realized that this would be a fun task. Erik Erikson has eight stages of Development (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman). I will be walking you though my life using each one of his stages drawing out the map of my life. Within my life I have had some very interesting encounters. I have been through foster care, abuse, rape, molestation, starvation, adoption, depression, and …show more content…

I would have to say this because I was very young and I didn’t know who I could trust. The older I got the more I struggled with this stage. I would say I struggled because you could never know who the right person was to trust. Another stage I would say I went through at this time is “Initiative Versus Guilt” (Zastrow and Kirst-Ashman). This is when a child learns to build relationships and or has a hard time doing so. Although I was very social, I was unable to know how to make friends. I would always feel guilty and would never know why I felt that way. At the age of six I was officially adopted by the Henry family. My name was changed, my history was left behind. Not only was my history left behind, however, so where my siblings. My parents were not able to adopt us all, causing all of to have to split up. This is one of the most traumatic moments in my life. I still remember being pried from my little brother’s arms, one of the most traumatic events in my life. I would have to say I was going through Identity versus role confusion at this time. Being adopted, for a long time, meant to me that I did not belong. I did not know who my brothers and sisters were. I also didn’t know my mother and father, which caused an emotional hit on me. This caused me to feel like I didn’t have an identity. I was confused and was unsure of how to deal with the stress that was being thrown at me. I would have to say the

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