Personal identity today is usually understood as hinging on the possession of things and persons. It’s almost always based on externals rather than on the inner being, so that’s why we would expect that as soon as we lose things and persons, both of which are external to ourselves, we have identity crises – serious ones that can lead to profound spiritual (I call it psychospiritual) distress, not to mention eventual physical distress.
Only when we look within can we enter our true selves, centered in God, and thus be enabled to move outside ourselves toward persons and things without being trapped by them and inevitably led to our inner death.