Navigating Big Life Changes
Change is stressful
Even when the change that is happening is good, our brains don’t like it most of the time. Some big life changes can be exciting and positive, but navigating them with a partner or partners can sometimes be challenging. Change can have physical and mental effects on you, and this episode discusses them as well as some ways to minimize the negative ones.
All brains are different, so the way we react to change is different as well. Some big life changes that our brains may perceive as stressful could be:
- Moving to a new place.
- Moving into a place with someone else.
- Moving out of a place you once shared with others.
- Getting a new job or a promotion.
- Complete change of career.
- Buying a home or any other big purchases.
- Having a child.
- Having a child move away to college or move out of the home.
- Dating again after a pandemic.
- Being social after a pandemic.
- Coming out and embracing a self or identity that is different from how you’ve been perceived by others.
- End of a relationship.
When a big life change occurs, our mind and body can react in a number of ways:
- Anxiety, which can also manifest physically as well as mentally.
- Depression and sadness.
- Fear.
- Anger, resentment, or lashing out.
- Inability to make decisions.
- Overall sense of dread.
How to alleviate the stress
A lot of the same advice that we talk about on the show in other episodes applies here. But some other ways to deal with the anxiety and stress around big life changes as well as some things to consider are:
- Help your partner out with the thing that is causing anxiety or stress.
- Compromise is sometimes key.
- Pick your battles and the mountains you want to die on.
- Try to plan for what you can.
- Take breaks!
