Life-Cycle Transition

What are life transitions?

Life transitions are points in life drawing in a countless number of changes, to your way of life. They might also be an outcome of important events that makes you stop and assess your life. These transitions may flow smoothly, but people often wrestle to adapt to change and find it to be highly stressful and disturbing at times.

Life cycle transitions are a natural element of life like marriage, childbirth, death, a new job, moving to a new place, separation, retirement, aging, and the list goes on. The one thing which is constant while going through it all is change, whether it is a positive change like starting a new job or a negative one like losing a job or a loved one. And with change comes good and bad emotions, the byproducts of which include stress, sleep problems, anxiety, frailty, vulnerability, or depression.

A few typical examples of life transitions:

• Young Adulthood
• Relocation
• Parenthood
• Marriage
• Mid-life differences
• Delayed Adulthood
• Separation
• Retirement
• Commencing a career
• Serious illness
• Having a child
• Getting married
• Switching jobs
• Mishaps
• Purchasing a house

Life Transitions Steps

Successfully passing through a life transition usually involves meeting the following steps:

• Experiencing a variety of negative emotions (anger, anxiety, uncertainty, numbness, and self-doubt).
• Feeling a loss of self-confidence.
• Start to accept the change.
• Understand that you need to let go of the past and embrace the future.
• Start feeling optimistic about the future.
• Feel raised self-esteem.

The process of going through a transition does not always proceed in orderly stages, as stated above. People usually pass through the process in different ways, often cycling back and forth between the stages.

Life Transitions Counseling:

All through our life, we confront change as a natural part of our everyday life whether it is a family member getting married, a new colleague joining the company, or a new activity we include in our life. However, there are times where our ability to adapt to the new environment is beyond our control. Counseling offers individuals ways to grapple with life changes via life transitions therapy. Your counselor can help identify various adjustment issues you face while going through the major life transitions.

Transitioning Smoothly with Counseling:

The purpose of life transition counseling is to help individuals go through these emotionally taxing life changes practicing healthy coping methods. Here are a few tactics that therapists generally use to help individuals feel combat-ready for future transitions in their lives. These strategies lighten the initial setback of the change while also providing hope for the future.

1. Acceptance towards change as a part of life
2. Remain positive
3. Identify and be verbal about feelings
4. Reframe ideas and thoughts
5. Stress management
6. Have rational expectations
7. Maintain a healthy habit
8. Engross in social interaction
9. Appreciate the perks of change

Remember, nothing escapes the change. It takes time to adjust to the situations that life brings, but these tactics can help an individual to pass smoothly through a period of transition. If you are currently trying to manage life transitions and would like someone to guide you through, then consider connecting to our therapist or counselors.

Resources

National Alliance on Mental Illness
www.nami.org/Find-Support/ (800) 950-NAMI