The new year is a time of many transitions, for better or for worse. Many people are starting a new semester in school, some may be starting a new job, or there may be transitions in or out of relationships, to name a few. The change and newness in your daily life can often feel stark, and you may notice that the changes in routine and emotions that come up are hard to manage. You are not alone! Read on for strategies to cope with the difficulties that transition brings, so you can more feasibly enjoy the excitement and possibilities of change. 

1. Limit Making Plans For A Predetermined Amount Of Time

Any transition, big or small, can feel extremely draining, especially in the first days or weeks. You might find yourself starting to doze off in class or in a meeting, or just feel exhausted on your way to and/or from your new job. This is a totally normal response! Change is a lot for your brain to take in, and it requires more energy to adapt to the newness. To account for this shift in energy, you may want to pre-emptively keep your social or extracurricular schedule light for the first phase of your transition, to ensure you have enough time to recharge. This is especially helpful if you are more introverted or a bit of a homebody, and you’re interfacing with lots of new people or spaces. Making social plans or engaging in hobbies at the end of your day can be an amazing way to enhance your life, but you may want to give yourself a break from this until you feel more settled in your new routine and reality.

2. Engage In Routine & Self-Care More Intentionally

Transition can turn our lives into ones we don’t recognize - new people, places, schedules, and more. To manage the disruption this can cause in your life, try to find two or three parts of your typical routine that help to ground you and prioritize engaging in those behaviors. This could be making sure you have your favorite tea in the morning before you get into work, ensuring you move your body 3 times a week, or whatever else feels important to keep yourself on an even keel. 

3. Stick To Your Breaks

It’s tempting when you’re in a new environment or situation to use all of the time you have to prepare or ruminate over the new experience. Try your best to use the breaks you have - a lunch break, the weekend, time between meetings or classes - as real breaks. Set aside all or part of these times to engage in some other part of your life. Chat on the phone with your long-distance bestie about your lives; go on a long walk with your pup and listen to a podcast; have a game night with your pals. Managing a transition can feel like it’s taking up all of your brain space, so ensuring that your breaks are not just physical, but also internal, can give your mind a much-needed rest from the stress and effort of adaptation. 

4. Complete Your Stress Cycle

Transition can bring ongoing stress that often manifests in the body. It can be helpful to stay in tune with your body, and the amount of stress it’s holding. Completing the stress cycle is the best way to release pent up stress, and there are multiple ways you can do it. Laughing (genuinely) with friends, moving your body in an exercise practice you enjoy, crying (yes - this is actually a great way to complete the stress cycle! Try putting on a movie that has made you cry in the past and see how it goes. Actually, I recommend identifying a movie that typically gets the tear ducts working to have in your back pocket whenever you feel like you need a release), masturbating (giggle all you want, but those endorphins are no joke), or breath work, to name a few. There are plenty more tools for completing the stress cycle if none of the above feels right to you.

5. Plan A Time To Reflect After The First Week Or Month

After you’ve made it through the first week or month of your transition - or after you feel you’re at least somewhat settled into the new experience or phase of your life - set aside some time to check in with yourself. Note what emotions have come up for you in this first stage of transition, which new routines have worked well for you (and which haven’t), who or what within your support system has been helpful, and what your body and mind needs going forward. This will help you think intentionally about how to continue through the transition in a way that makes your body and mind feel good, once the daze of change has worn off a bit.

Please use these strategies when you’re feeling overwhelmed in a transition - you got this!

Have you found other ways to cope with transition-related stress?