They’re eventually going to come: maybe after you graduate from high school or college, or after you’ve settled into your adult life in your 30s and feel restless or bored, at midlife when you feel the need to break out and realize that time is running out, or at retirement when you are wondering what to do with the next 20 years. They are called developmental crises for a reason—they come on you because you’ve developed; like crabs or snakes, you’ve outgrown your shell, your skin, and your current life no longer fits you, but you feel trapped in the routines and rules you’ve created.

The process of living is the process of changing—shifting needs and goals, the effects of aging. Research on adult development shows that adults move through 6-8 years of stability and then a couple of years of transition. The focus may vary: Sometimes, it is about feeling dissatisfied with your job or career; other times, about your relationship. Sometimes, it feels more like a restlessness; other times, a need to seriously break out.

Here are the common symptoms of a developmental crisis:

You’ve been doing the same job for several years, and you’re getting bored or dreading coming to work; you need something more challenging. You’ve fallen into what was once a comfortable lifestyle routine that now is no longer comfortable—it seems too........

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