Keys To Dealing With Major Life Transitions
When you deal with any major life transition, it is common to feel a sense of melancholy. The end of things often leaves people experiencing feelings of loss or even grief. This is true for both things that you wanted to end as well as things that you did not. When you are left facing a major change in your life, it is normal for you to experience many different emotions.
Learning how to handle major changes
Whether you are dealing with an empty nest, a divorce or another major change, it is healthy for you to feel conflicted at times. For a majority of people, we are simply not taught how we can handle major life transitions. This may leave you feeling unmoored as you struggle to deal with the changes in your life. Processing changes in your life in a healthy manner is something that most people struggle with as they are going through the changes in their lives.
There isn’t a single right or wrong way to deal with life transitions. People are multi-faceted and complex and may handle complicated situations differently from each other. However, there are some steps that might make the process a little easier for you.
The way that you feel is not wrong
Feeling a sense of loss or melancholy in the face of a major life change is not wrong. Some people feel guilty when they experience these emotions when the life changes that they are going through are positive ones, such as becoming new parents. Remember that every emotion that you experience is valid, including negative emotions.
Embrace your complexity
As a human being, you are complex. Experiencing mixed emotions doesn’t mean that something is wrong with who you are as a person. Instead, you should view your emotions as proof that you are human and alive.
On the other hand, there is also nothing wrong with you if you do not experience a range of conflicting emotions. This may simply indicate that you are numbing yourself or disconnecting from your life and from your experiences. It is normal for some people to do this when they are going through changes as a self-protective measure.
How you can process a major life transition
No matter what transition you might be going through, allow yourself time to grieve what you are leaving. Even if you have looked forward to your change, there is likely something about what you are leaving behind that will leave you feeling nostalgic. Don’t rush through the grief process and let yourself take all of the time that you need.
Identify a way to release your emotions. When you are experiencing many different emotions, bottling them up can be unhealthy. Try talking, drawing, writing or processing what you are going through in the way that fits you the best. Some people find that exercise helps them to get their emotions out while others prefer quieter, indoor activities.
Don’t try to avoid the discomfort that you might experience during the time between when one thing ends and the next begins. Recognize that the phase is temporary. If you let it, you will soon find that your time will be filled up again with something that is much better than what you experienced before.
Try to visualize what would be ideal for you in your next phase. Talk about the ideal, write about it and try to act like you are already living what you envision. This can help you to feel anticipation for the coming change in your life. To learn more about dealing with major life transitions, contact us today by filling out our online contact form.
