Life Transitions
Whether you’re experiencing a difficult ending, facing a new beginning, or feeling caught somewhere in between… life may feel uncertain, overwhelming, and confusing right now.
We all experience change and transition throughout life.
Life transitions are challenging, because they force us to let go of the familiar and face the future with a feeling of vulnerability. For some, it’s a transition from high school to college, college to a first job, moving to a new city, a painful break up, loss of a pet, infertility, or confusion about a relationship.
For others, it’s a sudden injury keeping them inactive, a new medical diagnosis, or loss of a loved one.
Even when you anticipate difficult crossroads, you can still feel unprepared and scared when the change becomes reality.
Transitions are challenging… even when they’re positive!
It’s also common to feel stressed or uncertain after a positive life change or transition.
Maybe you’re engaged or newly married, have a new baby or one on the way, recently sober, or starting a new job. Even when you’ve planned or hoped for these changes in your life, it’s normal and okay to feel anxious about them… and to wonder whether you made the right choice.
In the flurry of new change, it’s not unusual for us to long for life to be the way it was before this new chapter started.
Maybe you haven’t experienced a transition yet, but…
You feel a longing or aspiration to change something in your life. You might feel confused about your current relationship, desire to move across the country, or quit your job and go back to school.
Many people feel caught in a state of ambivalence, torn between a strong desire to change and the need to keep things the way they are.
Life is full of new beginnings and endings, but committing and adapting to change feels terrifying, especially if you are confused about what you want to change.
Here’s how therapy can help with life transitions…
Together, we will sort through the aspects of change or anticipated changes that are challenging to you; address them in a careful and systematic way; and identify supports and resources, such as friends and family to help you during this time.
Additionally, you will learn to recognize your thoughts and emotions, as well as develop the skills to help you regulate and cope with them. During our sessions together, we will utilize a variety of approaches to help you feel more stable and confident, as you move through this important time of life.
We may discuss various areas of your life such as your childhood, the past several years, and events leading up to this change. You may set goals such as decrease my anxiety or depression, move into a new apartment without fear, apply to graduate school, and decrease use of negative coping mechanisms.
Often, when you start to talk about what you are feeling, it helps you become aware of what you are going though as well as how it affects your day to day life.
In the case of indecision or fear of the unknown…
Therapy can help you identify the pros and cons that are keeping you stuck and support you to take a decisive action. You may feel anxious and struggle to trust whether you are making the right decision.
You may hear yourself saying things like, “How do I know if this is the right decision?” “What if I make the wrong decision?” “What if I regret my decision?”
You’ll learn to trust your gut instincts while increasing your tolerance for mistakes and acceptance of choice. Additionally, you will learn to identify uncomfortable thought patterns, such as anxiety and negative self-talk, address them appropriately, and change your future thoughts without judgment.
We will work together to ensure that the decision you do decide to make is the best decision of all.
If you are grieving a loss or have experienced a trauma…
We may utilize an intervention such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) to support your brain’s natural healing process and help you move forward after the upsetting or distressing event.
When someone has experienced distress in their lives and can’t find a way to manage it on their own, they may experience uncomfortable feelings, thoughts, and images. EMDR helps people naturally and effectively process the event so symptoms can decrease, and one can feel less distressed and more alive.
EMDR helps those who’ve experienced trauma after a big life event, death, loss, or life transition.
Let’s create a plan and move forward… together.
When you go through a major life transition you may feel like you are closing one door of your life and opening a new one to an unfamiliar place. No matter how your life is changing, life transition therapy can help you move forward with less pain, fear, and resistance, as well as provide you with new opportunities for growth and self-discovery.
If you are ready to learn proven strategies to ease your body and mind through this transitional time, call me today: (720) 254-3085.
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.” –N.R. Narayana Murthy