Autumn marks the time of new inspiring changes in nature with a chill in the air, shorter days and colorful leaves.

It can also provide opportunity for new experiences at work, in relationships and school environment. You or your adolescent may sense the exciting mixture joyful anticipation and fear of being inadequate for the task.

Our self-concepts grow with new role and tasks. Give yourself or loved one permission to explore a new identity, establish a routine and adjust to responsibility.

If you are in a season of new beginnings and approaching seasonal life changes consider the following because, “Change is here to stay!”

Gains & Losses: Maturational & Situational.

• Maturational/developmental: leaving home as a young adult, marriage, birth of children etc.
• Situational/circumstantial: declining health, job changes, death, financial setback etc.

Be Proactive & Prepared.

Anxiety can have meaning and purpose if it inspires us to achieve our goal.  For example, students who attend orientation use organizational skills and carry a campus map will decrease the negative effects of anxiety. This mind-set will greatly reduce the panicky feelings associate with a novel situation.

Find a Mentor.

Mentors help establish patterns of self talk in the face of novel situation and life changes. Perhaps your mentor is only one step ahead but if they patiently answer questions and model successful behaviors, hope is renewed.

Be kind to yourself as you “learn the ropes”:

This is a term used for novel sailors learning which rope to tighten and which to let loose in order to control the speed of the ship in the wind. Observe the ebb and flow in your new environment as you trust your intuition and cling to your core values.

Be Kind to Others.

When we are cordial to others while under stress, we give ourselves the same liberty. At the end of the day, it is about the way we treated an insensitive coworker at the copy machine or how we communicate honestly with our roommate when she brought her boyfriend over when we needed to study.

Whether you or a love one are leaving a parent, getting remarried or facing retirement, “Change is here to stay.” We experience personal and relational growth by approaching seasonal life changes. Regardless of past failures, new seasons move us beyond dormancy toward a promising future of maturity and renewed growth.  

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Author: Beth Holloway, MA, LPCA for Miller Counseling Services, PC

Beth Holloway, MA, LPCA is a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and has more than 12 years’ experience in the mental health field. She has recently joined the Miller Counseling Services team and specializes in counseling individuals and couples who have experienced all types of losses including abuse, domestic strife, and trauma. She enjoys leading group therapy classes in the areas of Divorce Recovery, Spiritual Enrichment, Couples and Parent/Child Relationships, Grief Processing and Depression Recovery. Beth has had the privilege of traveling all over the United States and to more than 10 foreign countries and has been enriched by learning about people from diverse cultures and ethnic groups.