Mae Ditty: Erikson Timeline - The Seventh Stage

Mae, age 20, has isolated herself severely. She has missed several coaching sessions and is contacted by EG to let her know that she will no longer be retained as a coach or screener. In Erikson's Seventh Stage, Generativity Vs Stagnation, one must decide whether they will contribute to the developmental well-being of the next generation or instead care for their own needs. The former would lead to Generativity, while the latter would lead to Stagnation. Responding acutely to a perceived lack of self-worth or purpose, she enlists herself into the military. The harsh reality that so many others from so young to so old had perceived the same as her--that no ready escape from worthlessness or purposelessness existed outside of the agony of military life--shocked her to her core. This major shock established a sense of Generativity within her where before there had only been the seeds of latent Generativity commonly found in those who wish vaguely to care for children, allowing her to overcome the difficulties imposed by failure of the past two stages of the Psychosocial Theory of Human Development. Now, she harbors a strong sense of Generativity and works towards her goal of preventing others from feeling that they need to enlist in order to establish a sense of self-worth or purpose for themselves.