Midlife crisis is mostly about age and timing. Identity crisis is something deeper — a question about who you actually are underneath the roles. The two can look almost identical from the outside, but they don't respond to the same things, and so it's worth knowing which one you're in.

Looking back, I can see that the worst points in my adult life came after losing roles I'd tied my identity to. The end of my marriage felt like I'd failed as a person. Being let go from a job felt like I'd failed as a person. Losing a role felt like losing my sense of self.