Adults Manage Transitions Differently

Let’s talk about transitions for adults. As adults, I feel we often overlook ‘transitional moments’ thinking perhaps that we outgrew that phrase with the sunset on our childhood. However, if you think about it, adulthood lasts for the overwhelming percentage of the lifetime of the average American, so it stands to reason that we encounter as many, if not more, transitional moments in adulthood. Need examples? Happy to….

Ever changed jobs past the age of 18? Ever moved to another state, city, neighborhood, or country to live or work? What about started (or ended) a romantic relationship? How about moved on from/recovered from one relationship and then entered into a new one? Anyone out there married? How about divorced? I’d venture to guess several people reading this are re-married. Anyone have kids? Maybe kids from multiple relationships or stepchildren. Show of hands for the strong, single moms (and dads!)? Who has buried a loved one? More than one loved one? Have you buried a spouse or partner?

Now that we’ve established that being an adult does not free you from transitions of life, major changes, or life altering milestones, let’s talk. How do you approach life changes? I wish there were a simple, concrete, catch all for this, but the real answer is that it varies from person to person and transition to transition. Being grown doesn’t mean we outgrow the fact that we’re all different, we handle change differently, and we come through things at a different pace. So, breathe if it has been 5 years, 10 years, (insert years here) and you still haven’t moved on from (losing your mother, getting divorced, giving birth, having surgery, etc.), but everyone around you has dealt with it and seems to be doing just fine. We all process emotions and deal with change DIFFERENTLY.

I’d love to continue talking transitions with anyone who could use some extra support. I know this barely touches the surface of things. I know this does not deal with YOUR life transition or YOUR emotional response or YOUR coping ability specifically. But I HOPE that it gets YOU thinking that it’s okay to continue to handle changes differently than others may and feel it’s okay to need extra support to get through the tough times.

Check out our related posts Quick Tips for Teachers/Parents of Kids Who Don’t Do Transitions and Back to School – Transitions for Teens and Young Adults.

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