In popular psychology, a quarter-life crisis is an existential crisis involving anxiety and sorrow over the direction and quality of one's life which is most commonly experienced in a period ranging from a person's early twenties up to their mid-thirties,[1][2] although it can begin as early as eighteen.[3] It is defined by clinical psychologist Alex Fowke as "a period of insecurity, doubt and disappointment surrounding your career, relationships and financial situation".[3]