How to Use Major Life Transitions to Instill Healthy Habits

At some point in life, each individual has to undergo a major transition, whether that be in their personal or professional endeavors. While these transitions disrupt our normal way of life, they are also windows of opportunities to make positive changes towards improving our overall well-being. Prominent changes can include learning how to handle stress, increasing attention towards health, or making better life decisions in general. While making changes is never easy, this article by Sejdaras Psy.D & Associates will explore useful tips regarding how you can make long-lasting positive changes during transitions.

Graduating from College

College is known as the time when individuals form strong bonds with others which often continue deep into adulthood and even senior life. However, not all friendships you form in college are meant to last. Once the routine of college life is replaced by work, you will need to put in added effort to maintain friendships, whether that be through texting, or regular meetings.

This transition period serves as a good time to detach yourself from negative individuals. These could be those who have the characteristics of being self-centered, selfish, and a penchant for always focusing on the bad side of things. In your transition away from college, start investing time into developing stronger bonds with individuals who are supportive, optimistic, and clear-headed. Additionally, when making new friends, use these characteristics as the standard to include them in your social circle. As reported by Everyday Health, having such friends will improve your self-esteem, reduce stress and increase happier moods.

Changing a Job

If you’re working a job that does not contribute to your personal and professional growth, take the leap of faith of making a career change. Individuals often focus on compensation as the main factor for choosing a position. However, in the long-term what matters more is the company culture, its treatment of employees, and its commitment to ethical practices

When looking for new opportunities, reflect on past obstacles such as, not setting strong boundaries, lack of work-life balance, inefficient management, etc., and seek positions that align with your goals.

As reported by SHRM, conditions such as chronic stress, panic attacks, and anxiety are prevalent among young adults, caused by overworking and the lack of self-care. In the interest of your mental and physical wellbeing, learn to integrate work as an important part of your daily routine, while making time for other activities such as leisure, exercise, meditation, socializing, hobbies, etc.

Relocating

If you’ve reached the point where you feel having a fresh start is important, relocation can serve as the perfect solution. As a young adult, this experience will help you become stronger through gathering the skills and knowledge to deal with the following transition challenges:

• Creating a budget to cover costs of affording your new home and moving expenses.

• Accepting the responsibility of finding and managing a home on your own, especially if you are moving out of your parent’s home or planning to live alone.

• Managing the nitty-gritty of moving which includes taking stock of inventory, packing, and arranging for movers. And as any responsible adult knows, when dealing with movers, always ask for an in-person visit and receive a quote in writing, before making payments. Start your search on Angi.com to find well-reviewed services in your area.

• Handling personal finances to maintain your standard of living in the new location.

As you see, relocating will put forth various physical and mental challenges to move you beyond your comfort zone, resulting in the development of good habits, and transforming you into a responsible adult.

When it comes to handling transitions, use each one as a learning opportunity to improve your decision-making skills.

If you’d like to work with one of our Therapists we are currently accepting clients and you can reach us at Our Office. We provide a free 15 phone consultation to determine if we are a good match for one another. For more information on anxiety and depression treatment check out our website at www.chicagopsych.org