Individual Counseling Insights brought to you by California Psychotherapeutic Resources, Inc.
There has been much written about the challenges we’ve faced over the last year. With vaccines available to all adults in America, though, and life beginning to return to a semblance of normality, now may be the time to look beyond the challenges. Now may be the time to look for any opportunities inherent in the inevitable process of life’s transitions.
Writing for Working Resources, a leadership consulting website, Dr. Maynard Brusman explores the subject in-depth. “Life transitions are predictable changes in our lives associated with a discontinuity with the past,” writes Brusman. “With each change we must give up the protective structures which have carried us through and then face the world anew with a sense of fragility and vulnerability. These times of disruption may force us to test the limits of our ability to adapt. However, with each transition we have the opportunity to learn a great deal about our inner coping resources and to ask ourselves what we really want out of life. This period of self-reflection can then lead to self-renewal and a new phase of stability and eventual equilibrium.”
If you sense that now is the time embrace a transition, Brusman goes on to offer the following advice:
- Give yourself enough time to let go of the old and reorient yourself to the new.
- Arrange temporary ways of living or working if your transition involves loss of a job or a relationship, or a move to a new home.
- Tolerate the discomfort, including any anxiety or insecurity you may feel.
- Take care of yourself during the transition, paying particular attention to your diet and exercise.
- Find the support you need, including contacting a professional if necessary.