Meaning of "crisis"

Hi All,
"Crisis" seems a very easy word :-) It is kind of international word.. But according to the dictionaries and googling I cann't find real usages of "crisis" in situation that sounds fine in Russian.

In Russian I can say something like next (cite from my essay):

In my professional life, there are periods of time, when I have to do some research or elaboration, which requires a lot of intellectual concentration, and I often tend to overwork into the bargain. Previously, it resulted in me suffering from insomnia, backache, bad appetite, and so forth. Then I introduced exercises into my everyday pursuits, and it completely solved my crisis.

Is it acceptable to use "crisis" in such manner in English? Are there any differences for Britain/USA/Canada? In Google, Wiki and dictionaries I find only applicability for global and local financial and political problems etc.

Please, suggest nice replacement for "crisis" above except "all my problems with well-being".

Thanks a lot!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andrei_9999

Hi All,
"Crisis" seems a very easy word :-) It is kind of international word.. But according to the dictionaries and googling I cann't find real usages of "crisis" in situation that sounds fine in Russian.

In Russian I can say something like next (cite from my essay):

In my professional life, there are periods of time, when I have to do some research or elaboration, which requires a lot of intellectual concentration, and I often tend to overwork into the bargain. Previously, it resulted in me suffering from insomnia, backache, bad appetite, and so forth. Then I introduced exercises into my everyday pursuits, and it completely solved my crisis.

Is it acceptable to use "crisis" in such manner in English? Are there any differences for Britain/USA/Canada? In Google, Wiki and dictionaries I find only applicability for global and local financial and political problems etc.

Please, suggest nice replacement for "crisis" above except "all my problems with well-being".

Thanks a lot!

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You have not in fact shown that you have a crisis - you seem to have an ongoing stress related situation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anglika

You have not in fact shown that you have a crisis - you seem to have an ongoing stress related situation.

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Well, and what is a situation which is understand as crisis? For me the named problems are "crisis", but "crisis" as I understand and use this word in Russian ([KRIZIS]). Insomnia dramatically decreases ones capacity, and it is not an ongoing situation, it's a temporal crisis which one wants to solve asap.

Or should I add to the text some special statement about temporal character of the situation?..

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andrei_9999

Well, and what is a situation which is understand as crisis? For me the named problems are "crisis", but "crisis" as I understand and use this word in Russian ([KRIZIS]). Insomnia dramatically decreases ones capacity, and it is not an ongoing situation, it's a temporal crisis which one wants to solve asap.

Or should I add to the text some special statement about temporal character of the situation?..

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This is the problem. You are still thinking in Russian, not in English. Look again at the usage of "crisis" in English, and at the way in which it is defined in dictionaries.

British National Corpus (BYU-BNC)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Anglika

This is the problem. You are still thinking in Russian, not in English. Look again at the usage of "crisis" in English, and at the way in which it is defined in dictionaries.

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Im sorry, maybe I've posted a confusing question, but what are you saying is actually my question posted here: what means "crisis" in English and in which situation can I use it?

As I already pointed, google and dictionaries do not help me, because from one side, they do not claim that I can't use it in certain situations, but from the other side, they have too little examples :( In addition, thesaurus.com has a lot of synonyms to "crisis" some of them are far from "catastrophe etc." in meaning.

Therefore I have doubts whether "crisis" really can be used only for political, economical and catastrophical issues.. And can't be used for life events having no connection to money..
So, can you approve the last statement?

When you meet "false friends" like this, all you can do is learn how they are used in the target language. If dictionaries don't give the meaning you want, it's often best to use another word.

>And can't be used for life events having no connection to money..
Yes, you can have a crisis in your personal life, your relationships.
If your wife leaves you, or if you lose your job, that could be a crisis.
If you don't sleep well at night, that is not a crisis.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English 5 Edition

cri‧sis S3 W2 / ˈkraɪsəs, ˈkraɪsɪs / noun ( plural crises / -siːz / ) [ uncountable and countable ]

1 a situation in which there are a lot of problems that must be dealt with quickly so that the situation does not get worse or more dangerous → emergency : The country now faces an economic crisis .
The Prime Minister was criticized for the way in which he handled the crisis .
the current debt crisis
a major political crisis
I was relieved that we had averted yet another financial crisis .
Oil companies were heavily criticized when they made large profits during the oil crisis of the 1970s.
The car industry is now in crisis .
He doesn’t seem to be very good at crisis management .

2 a time when a personal emotional problem or situation has reached its worst point : an emotional crisis
In times of crisis, you find out who your real friends are.
He seems to be going through a crisis .
She has reached a crisis point in her career.
Both parties experienced an identity crisis (= feeling of uncertainty about their purpose ) at the end of the '90s.

3 crisis of confidence a situation in which people no longer believe that a government or an economic system is working properly, and will no longer support it or work with it : There seems to be a crisis of confidence in the economy.

4 crisis of conscience a situation in which someone feels worried or uncomfortable because they have done something which they think is wrong or immoral
→ midlife crisis COLLOCATIONS
adjectives
an economic/political/financial etc crisis The country was headed into an economic crisis.
a constitutional crisis (= relating to the way a country is governed ) The scandal caused the greatest constitutional crisis of modern times.
a major/serious/deep/severe crisis Our farming industry has been hit by a serious crisis.
a worsening/deepening crisis The strikes came during a worsening economic crisis.

verbs