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Life Transitions: 8 Tips for Navigating Change with Grace and Resilience

Ambiguous loss is a profound form of grief that occurs without clear closure or resolution. Coined by Dr. Pauline Boss in the 1970s, this concept describes situations where a person experiences loss without the traditional markers of death or finality. Such losses can be particularly challenging because they often go unrecognized by others, leading to feelings of isolation and confusion.

What Is a Life Transition?

Life transitions are moments of change that invite us to pause and reflect on who we are and who we want to become. While transitions can happen at any stage of life, they often feel particularly intense during midlife, retirement, or other pivotal periods. It’s normal to feel uncertain, anxious, or even sad during these times—these emotions are part of what it means to be human.

Examples of Life Transitions:

  • Getting married

  • Pregnancy or becoming a parent

  • Divorce or separation

  • Leaving home or moving to a new place

  • Empty nest syndrome

  • Career change or job loss

  • Health challenges or serious illness

  • Significant loss (person, pet, or anything important)

  • Retirement

Why Do Transitions Feel Overwhelming?

Change can feel like stepping into the unknown. Our minds naturally crave predictability, so when the familiar shifts, we may feel anxious, vulnerable, or even mourn the life we once had. Sometimes this stress can show up as trouble sleeping, changes in appetite, or even feelings of depression or anxiety. When it becomes too much to handle on your own, it may even meet the criteria for an adjustment disorder, which is a normal response to major life changes (O'Donnell et al., 2019).

Finding the Silver Lining

Though change can be challenging, it also carries opportunities for growth. Research shows that successfully navigating transitions can strengthen resilience, boost confidence, and increase emotional awareness (Peng et al., 2025). You may discover new skills, uncover what truly matters to you, or develop a deeper sense of self. Even transitions we didn’t choose can bring unexpected benefits.

Coping with Change: Evidence-Based Strategies

Here are ways to care for yourself and navigate life’s transitions with compassion and clarity:

  1. Acknowledge Your Emotions: Allow yourself to feel whatever arises—fear, sadness, excitement, or relief. Naming your emotions validates them and begins the healing process.

  2. Reach Out for Support: Lean on friends, family, or support groups. Sharing your experience reminds you that you are not alone.

  3. Practice Self-Compassion: Be gentle with yourself. Adjusting to change takes time, and it’s okay to stumble along the way.

  4. Take Care of Your Body: Sleep, nutrition, and movement all influence your emotional well-being. A healthy body supports a resilient mind.

  5. Use Active Coping Strategies: Problem-solving, goal-setting, or positive reframing can help you feel more in control of your new circumstances (Sundqvist et al., 2024).

  6. Reflect on Your Values: Clarifying what matters most to you can guide your decisions and help you move forward with intention.

  7. Build New Routines: Small, consistent habits create stability amidst uncertainty.

  8. Allow Yourself Time: Life transitions are a journey. Celebrate small wins and notice how you grow along the way.

When to Seek Professional Help

If the stress of change feels unmanageable, or if you notice persistent sadness, anxiety, or thoughts of self-harm, reach out for professional support immediately. Therapists can provide a safe space to explore your emotions, develop coping strategies, and navigate life’s transitions with guidance and care (Novaković et al., 2025).

At Summit Family Therapy, we honor the courage it takes to face life’s transitions. You do not have to navigate these changes alone. Together, we can explore your feelings, clarify your goals, and help you move forward with hope and confidence.

Sources

  1. O'Donnell, M. L., et al. (2019). Adjustment Disorder: Current Developments and Future Directions. International Review of Psychiatry.

  2. Novaković, I. Z., et al. (2025). Mental health during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.

  3. Peng, M., et al. (2025). Relationships between emotional intelligence, mental resilience, and adjustment disorder in newly licensed registered nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing.

  4. Sundqvist, A. J. E., et al. (2024). The influence of educational transitions on loneliness and mental health among emerging adults. Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

  5. Parola, A., et al. (2025). Resources and personal adjustment for career transitions in adolescents. Journal of Vocational Behavior.

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Ambiguous Loss: What Is It?

Dr. Pauline Boss, PhD, from University of Minnesota, has spent most of her career studying and writing books about ambiguous loss. Have you considered how your life be impacted by an ambiguous loss? The following article is a brief summary of her findings.

Ambiguous Loss: What Is It?

Dr. Pauline Boss, PhD, from University of Minnesota, has spent most of her career studying and writing books about ambiguous loss.  Have you considered how your life be impacted by an ambiguous loss? The following article is a brief summary of her findings:

What is an Ambiguous Loss?

  • Loss that remains unclear

  • Ongoing and without clear ending

  • Can’t be clarified, cured, or fixed

  • Ambiguous loss can be physical or psychological, but there is incongruence between absence/presence

  • Contextual: The pathology lies in a context or environment of ambiguity (pandemic, racism)

Two Types of Ambiguous Loss

  1. Physical Absence with Psychological Presence--Leaving without saying goodbye

    • Catastrophic: disappeared, kidnapped, MIA

    • More common: leaving home, divorce, adoption, deployment, immigration

  2. Psychological Absence with Physical Presence--Goodbye without leaving

  • Catastrophic: Alzeimer’s disease and of  dementias, brain injury, autism, addiction

  • More Common: homesickness, affairs, work, phone obsessions/gaming, preoccupation with absent loved one

What Ambiguous Loss is NOT:

  • Death

  • Grief disorder

  • PTSD

  • Complicated grief

  • Ambivalence (different that ambiguous)

Examples of Ambiguous Loss Caused by Pandemic--loss of who we have been, what we have been doing, having control over lives, loss of our world view as safe place.

  • Our usual agency

  • Control over our usual personal, family, and work life

  • Our in person relationships

  • Our job; loss of money and financial security

  • Our sense of safety

  • The ability to control how much time we spend with family and friends

  • Ability to gather physically together in large numbers for worship, sports, concerts

Are you struggling with ambiguous loss? Our team of professionals at Summit Family Therapy can help. Give our office a call at 309-713-1485 or email info@summitfamily.net. You do not have to go through this alone.

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Life Transitions: 8 Tips for Getting Through Tough Times

Life transitions are usually life changing events that cause us to re-examine our present sense of who we are. Although life transitions can happen at any age, many people will experience significant life transitions during mid-life or at retirement.

What is a Life Transition?

Life transitions are usually life changing events that cause us to re-examine our present sense of who we are.  Although life transitions can happen at any age, many people will experience significant life transitions during mid-life or at retirement.

Examples of Life Transitions 

  • Getting married

  • Pregnancy / Becoming a parent

  • Divorce or relational separation                            

  • Leaving parent’s home or moving to new home

  • Empty nest syndrome

  • Change in career or loss of career

  • Health changes / serious illness 

  • Significant loss (person, pet, or anything important)

  • Retirement

If Life Transitions are normal, why do I feel so overwhelmed?

Transition means change. We are resistant to change.  Most of us like predictability in our everyday lives. The unknown causes us fear and stress.  We feel vulnerable. There can be a sense of grief or loss.  

Are there any positives?

Changes, especially difficult changes, can promote personal growth. Dealing with a change successfully can leave a person stronger, more confident and better prepared for what comes next in life.  Even unwanted or unexpected changes may produce beneficial outcomes. 

You might gain new knowledge or develop new skills as the result of life transition.  These changes might allow you to discover what’s important in your life and assist you in achieving greater self-awareness.

Coping with Change

Someone facing change may also experience depression, anxiety, changes in eating habits, trouble sleeping, or abuse of alcohol or drugs. If these symptoms persist or change disrupts normal coping mechanisms and makes it difficult or impossible for person to cope with new circumstances, a person may be diagnosed with an Adjustment Disorder. Symptoms typically begin within 3 months of the stress or change.  It’s important to seek immediate assistance if you are engaging in reckless / dangerous behaviors or having thoughts of suicide—call 911.  

Therapy for Change

A therapist may incorporate a variety of techniques such as emotionally focused therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, acceptance commitment therapy or motivational interviewing.  A therapist will assist in treating stress, anxiety and depression while exploring new coping strategies with the client.

How can I cope with Life Transitions?

Understand that while Life Transitions are difficult, they can promote positive outcomes

  1. Accept that change is a normal part of life

  2. Identify your values and life goals 

  3. Learn to identify and express your feelings

  4. Expect to feel uncomfortable 

  5. Take care of yourself

  6. Build a support system

  7. Don’t hurry- focus on rewards

  8. Acknowledge what’s been left behind

If you are struggling with a Life Transition or significant change in your life, you may benefit by engaging in therapy with a professional counselor. Together you can identify your feelings, process the potential changes and formulate goals in order to move forward in your life.

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