Although change is an inevitable part of life, it can sometimes be stressful, isolating, or even debilitating. Employers can support mental health resiliency by promoting self-care and coping strategies in the workplace and steering at-risk employees to employee assistance programs.
Are you moving to a new house? Is your workplace reorganizing? Are you going through a divorce? Everyone handles change differently, but for many of us, a shift to a new routine or setting can be challenging. Learn more about our normal response to change, and how we can make the experience more positive.
The highs and lows
Research shows that stressful change can have a negative impact on our physical and emotional well-being. It can also affect our work performance and even our relationships. But a change doesn’t always mean we’re facing something dire: change can often be a positive event if it improves our day-to-day life. Plus, experiencing change can make us better at adapting in general. If you think about it, there are many examples in which we actively seek out a change to some aspect of our lives.
Why can change be tough to handle?
- It can be intimidating or even frightening to face a situation that’s new and unfamiliar.
- You may not welcome the change. You don’t want it, or perhaps you don’t believe the change is necessary.
- You may feel a lack of control over your own life.
- Change always involves a loss—even when you’re transitioning to something better.
Related resources:
- Suggestions on how to cope with loss and grief
- Coping with crisis: Normal reactions to abnormal events
Attitude makes a difference
The way you think about the change can directly affect how you cope with it. Try these useful tips:
- Accept that it’s normal to be emotional. You may feel unhappy, uneasy, angry, or excited.
- Stop over-analyzing. Avoid blaming yourself or others, or focusing too much on why something happened.
- Be realistic. What is a reasonable outcome? If your expectations are too high, it only adds to the stress and disappointment when they aren’t met.
- Look for the lessons. Every experience, no matter how difficult, teaches us something useful and can help us grow as individuals.
- Find the positives. Try not to dwell on the negative aspects of the situation.
- Remind yourself that it’s not forever. Eventually, you’ll adjust to the new situation. Be patient, and give yourself time.
Actions you can take
You may not be able to prevent the change that’s happening, but there are concrete steps you can take that will make the change a lot easier.
- Address any problems that are solvable. There may be some aspects to the change that have immediate solutions.
- Spend time with your friends and family—being around your support network can be helpful.
- Communicate with your supervisor. In the case of workplace change, it will help you to learn more about why the change is happening, share any concerns, and develop strategies.
- Take steps to de-stress: get regular exercise, breathe deeply for a few minutes a day, pray/meditate, or distract yourself with a funny movie. Try different things to help improve the way you feel, both physically and emotionally.
Related resource: Suggestions for self-care and coping
When to seek help
Despite your best efforts to handle the change, you may be struggling. Watch for warning signs that you might need additional help, i.e., trouble sleeping, changes in appetite, anxiety that’s disrupting your daily life, excessive drinking, loss of motivation, or feelings of hopelessness. If this is happening, talk with your doctor or therapist, or take advantage of your employment assistance program.
Related resource: Mental Health: Coping With Stress
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Additional Resources
- Responding to Stressful Events: Helping Teens Cope
- Helping children cope with separation and divorce
- Coping with the after-effects of a traumatic experience? Veterans Affairs Canada provides information regarding PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder).
- Reducing Work–Life Conflict: What Works? What Doesn’t?
