Life transitions can enter our lives at any time. How well we cope with them depends not only on the number and intensity of life transitions we are experiencing, but also on how adaptable we are to embracing our ‘what next?’
What is a life transition?
A life transition is period during which a lot of change is taking place in our lives; the change in question may be difficult to adjust to.
Examples of life transitions include – but are not limited to:
career change
cognitive health changes
diet
divorce
empty nesting
facing mortality
feeling anxious
feeling depressed
hormones changing
loneliness
losing a job
loss
moving home
new direction
physical health changes
retirement
spiritual connection
starting a new business
uncertainty
According to Bruce Feller, author of Life is in the Transitions, we are likely to experience a new transition every 12 to 18 months, most transitions take at least 3 to 5 years to complete and over half of life transitions (53%) are involuntary, for example being made redundant.
Working with clients
Life transitions can show up differently, depending on your personal circumstances.
For example, a client's life transition around diet may remain in a state of flux for years, as they dip in and out of healthy eating as and when they feel like it/feel able to do it.
But someone else, as was the case with one of my clients, the circumstances may be very different. For this client, a serious diagnosis called for immediate and real change, including taking up a structured exercise programme at the gym and calling a halt to fast food and alcohol.
Some transitions, for example empty nesting, may be perceived as an opportunity to start a new phase of life, but adapting to a life where the children are no longer at home may be challenging for some clients because they may not yet feel ready to change their actions or identity or may not yet know how to negotiate such a major change.
Wherever you are on your journey, it is possible to move through your life transition(s) at a pace and in ways that best serve you. Help is available, and you do not have to do it on your own.
I work with clients from all walks of life who are experiencing one or more life transitions. Contact me to find out more about how we can work together.
Debbie
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