{"id":33809,"date":"2022-05-21T16:03:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-21T22:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/?post_type=journalarticle&p=33809"},"modified":"2024-09-15T09:21:32","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T15:21:32","slug":"the-psychology-of-transitions","status":"publish","type":"journalarticle","link":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/journalarticle\/the-psychology-of-transitions\/","title":{"rendered":"A psicologia das transi\u00e7\u00f5es"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"\"
Myself and my husband getting married, one of the many transitions I’ve experienced over the years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Transition is the cognitive process of dealing with changes happening outside of ourselves. It is the ability to let go of how things were and accept how things will be going forward. As William and Susan Bridges, authors of Transitions: Making Sense of Life\u2019s Changes<\/em> (2019), describe, \u201cTransition<\/em> is not just a nice way to say change<\/em>. It is the inner process through which people come to terms with a change, as they let go of the way things used to be and reorient themselves to the way that things are now.\u201d In other words, it is the period after the ending of one stage and before the beginning of the next\u2014the \u201cin between,\u201d if you will. Change is the event on the outside, and transition is the process on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this may sound simple and straightforward, the whole process of transition is anything but. Psychological transitions can happen individually, but they can also happen in a family or among friends, and they can occur within a group such as in an organization or corporation. No matter the scale, the transition process is still the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a psychological transition, there is first an ending. Individually, this is often a major life event, such as a graduation, death, or marriage. These signify the end of one role and the beginning of another. Sharron Merriam (2005) outlines four types of transitions we can experience. First, there are anticipated transitions, like retiring, moving, or being promoted. I\u2019ve been through many of these transitions myself\u2014from getting married, to having a child, to witnessing my child\u2019s first college graduation. The second type is an unanticipated transition, such as being fired, getting into an accident, becoming ill, or losing a relationship. The third type of transition is a non-event transition, where something you expected to happen did not occur. For example, not getting the house you really wanted, not being able to have a child, or not getting a promotion you expected. Finally, there are sleeper transitions. These are transitions that happen without your awareness. These transitions can be positive, like becoming a good parent, gaining competence at work, or learning to play an instrument. But sleeper transitions can also be negative, like gradually losing a friend or experiencing cognitive decline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While you can prepare for expected transitions, you still may find yourself reacting in unexpected ways, even when the transition is seemingly good. Many people experience depression after the birth of a child or unhappiness after a promotion. We tend to feel confused by these reactions and guilty for not being happy when we should be. But these feelings are the result of not yet having transitioned, not having accepted the loss of our previous state of being. Of course, unexpected or non-event transitions can also trigger strong feelings of loss and grief that will have to be worked through. Transitions are a fundamental part of living and growing as a human being. They allow us to become more reflective and gain understanding as we go through life. Ironically, the more difficult a transition, the greater the potential for growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our culture tends to think of growth as something that is only added. You take classes in school, and eventually, you have enough credits to graduate. You work on a book, and eventually, you have enough material to publish. But transitioning from one chapter of our lives to another also involves a loss. We have to give up our old way of being or doing before we can effectively move on to the new one. When we build a new house, we can\u2019t put up walls and doors until we clear away the trees, dirt, and brush that were on the lot before. We have to clear things away from the old to make room for the new, and we have to process this loss in order to move on. This truth might mean going through some or all of Elisabeth K\u00fcbler-Ross\u2019s (1969) five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. For example, becoming a parent for the first time also means internally mourning the loss of our old independent selves before we can move on to enjoying our new role. If we get a new job or our company changes its approach to doing business, the same thing may happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Being in transition is uncomfortable. It is not unusual to try to go back to our old activities or our old way of doing things simply because it feels more normal. Routines are comforting when we experience the physical symptoms of transition, which may include feeling stressed, anxious, irritable, fatigued, or overwhelmed. We may also experience difficulty sleeping, physical changes in appetite or digestion, headaches, frequent illness, or a lowered libido. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So how do you go about getting through a transition? The process always starts with an end. Let go of the old in order to be able to accept the new. Each of us deals with endings in a different way, but we need closure in order to successfully move on. Often, our approach is one that we learned early in our lives\u2014something we unconsciously fall back on every time we are faced with a transition. We are particularly adept at not seeing our own method of coping. If we could identify this clearly, it would be an amazing insight into how we can best process our situation. Recognizing that we may tend to become anxious, angry, or depressed when faced with a transition could help us navigate it better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, we will need to get ourselves out of being stuck between the old and the new. The answer, here, is time. A successful transition requires a space of time where we are not trying to be productive. We need a period of dormancy to process what is happening and successfully move on to our next chapter. As a society, we tend to want things to happen quickly, but speed is not helpful in the process of transition. There is no recipe for how long the process will take for each person and no checklist to work through to make sure you have reached the end. Trying to complete a transition quickly may result in unresolved issues which can surface later in life. When a transition presents itself, spend time in a neutral space to allow yourself to be alone and to figure out what you really want. Reaching out to others for social support or consulting a mental health professional can also be helpful. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As teachers, we have the privilege of being present for many transitions throughout our students\u2019 lives. Being present and giving them space and support to navigate their transition can make a world of difference. For example, transitions happen to our transfer students every time they move from one community to another\u2014changing teachers or schools and having to make new friends. We experienced a transition when we moved from teaching in-person to teaching online. Understanding transitions and what they entail greatly empowers us to be empathetic and supportive when we assist ourselves or others through the process. Above all, we need to take care of ourselves while allowing time for a mental shift to take place. A caterpillar has to take time to be a chrysalis before it can emerge as a butterfly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridges, William and Susan. Transitions, Making Sense of Life\u2019s Changes. New York: Lifelong Books, 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridges, William and Susan. Managing Transitions, Making the Most of Change. New York: Lifelong Books, 2017.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gregory, Christina. \u201cThe Five Stages of Grief, An Examination of the Kubler-Ross Model.\u201d PsyCom. 2021. [url=https:\/\/www.psycom.net\/depression.central.grief.html]https:\/\/www.psycom.net\/depression.central.grief.html[\/url]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u00fcbler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1969.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Merriam, Sharron B. \u201cHow Adult Life Transitions Foster Learning and Development.\u201d New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education Vol 2005, Issue 108 (Winter 2005): 3-13. https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1002\/ace.193.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Transi\u00e7\u00e3o \u00e9 o processo cognitivo de lidar com mudan\u00e7as que ocorrem fora de n\u00f3s. \u00c9 a capacidade de deixar de lado a forma como as coisas eram e aceitar como as coisas ser\u00e3o daqui para frente. Como William e Susan Bridges, autores de Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes (2019), descrevem: \"Transi\u00e7\u00e3o n\u00e3o \u00e9 apenas uma forma bonita de dizer mudan\u00e7a. Ela...<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":34789,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":"0","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":""},"article-tag":[811],"journalsection":[],"class_list":["post-33809","journalarticle","type-journalarticle","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article-tag-transitions","pmpro-has-access"],"acf":[],"taxonomy_info":{"article-tag":[{"value":811,"label":"Transitions"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Wedding.jpeg.converted-718x1024-1.jpg",718,1024,false],"author_info":[],"comment_info":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalarticle\/33809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalarticle"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/journalarticle"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"article-tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article-tag?post=33809"},{"taxonomy":"journalsection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/suzukiassociation.org\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/journalsection?post=33809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}