Life Transitions

Therapy To Address Life Transitions In The Greater Berkeley Area

Life fully lived forces us to constantly adapt to change: a new baby, a new relationship, marriage, divorce, illness, a new career, to name a few. Each of these events cause stress to varying degrees depending on how well we were biologically and physically, and emotionally prepared we were to deal with them.

Perhaps you are surprised that getting married, buying a new home, moving to a place you desire, having a family of your own, starting anew career or even retiring can actually make you feel anxious, low, fearful, and upset … just as negative events such as loss, divorce and severe and debilitating illness or injury can as well.

All of us try to cope the best we are able to each of these events, but sometimes we feel sad or scared when we should be happy, or we feel stuck and like we cannot go forward, or maybe we just feel overwhelmed and hopeless.

Why isn’t it all lining up, we ask? Well there may be many reasons, such as:

• having parents who were unsupportive of our happiness or growth because of their problems such as envy or other problems;
• having experiences that make it difficult to feel
• or having to make too many adjustments at once

These are just a few examples of ways we can be thrown off and have a hard time dealing with life’s challenges.

If you are needing help understanding your reactions to life’s major transitions we can work together to alleviate your distress. These feelings are typically indicative of a deeper problem. The meaning of these events to you can be hidden until looked at with another set of eyes, ears, and acquired knowledge. In addition, mindfulness and other stress reduction strategies can help to re-center yourself and get relief. Particularly if such events are typically joyous occasions, it would be worth getting the benefit of such counsel.

Is if life is just feeling too challenging at present, it sounds like a good time to head for some help from a professional such as Dr, Lynn Winsten in Berkeley.

BerkeleyYou Are Not Alone

When new horizons present us with a host of challenges we’ve never had to overcome, we can often feel overwhelmed; even when these challenges should presumably be a path to greater joy. Sometimes especially when the path should feel brighter, it seems to be the darkest it’s ever been. It may throw us off balance, or seem disproportionate to our expectations of what we were hoping for, contrary to what may have happened. When plans don’t go accordingly. When plans do go accordingly. When there is no plan at all; life continues happening, day after day.

Philosophy calls this “the human condition.” This is the conglomerate of everything life has to offer us, without exception. The very plight of human existence rests solely within each of our minds; from here in Berkeley, CA, to Bangor, ME, all the way to Tarawa, Kiribati. It is part of being human, that we suffer from an unshakeable yearning to release our burdens. To cage the ever-elusive ability to control our path. To understand life.

You’re not alone. That feeling of losing control, which comes with any life transition, is natural. It’s when we find ourselves lost in this whirlwind, that it can become a detriment to our daily lives. As humans, we are built to adapt to change. The fact that change is a never-ceasing certainty and that we are always in a state of endless fluctuation, means that we should always be adapting. Becoming overwhelmed with new environments, atmospheres, circumstances, events, and even knowledge may lead to a halt in the progress that was intended for us. This occurrence then becomes a resistance to adaptation; a discomfort for our minds, which are meant to be malleable during these times.

There is only one possible wrong choice in these situations. Only one possible mistake. That is to not accept guidance during times of distress. There is no shame in becoming overwhelmed or finding life’s many changes to be stressful. If you were hanging from a cliffside next to a ladder, would you continue hanging by your fingertips or would you at least try to grab onto the ladder so you could climb back to the top? You are obligated to yourself to find betterment, so that your plans can continue and so you don’t have to remain hanging onto the little bit of rock your fingers can cling to.

I’m the ladder at your side. You only need to reach over and grab a rung, in order to climb up. With more than 30 years of professional experience to embolden what I can offer you; you can be assured that your life will get back on track with minimal guidance. Don’t let the stress of a life transition or any number of life transitions be the reason for your derailment. Contact my office for a consultation today!

I’m Dr. Lynn Winsten, Ph.D. If you are from the greater Berkeley area and are experiencing distress due to a life transition of any sort, please call (510) 527-5359 or text (510) 847-4738. For the duration of the Covid-19 pandemic, I am providing telehealth sessions. Don’t let time slip away any longer, call today!