“Over the course of a lifetime, a person can expect to experience a significant amount of change. Some of these changes…are generally positive…[while others] may cause a significant amount of stress.”
GoodTherapy
Actions For Now
Steps (& Apps) to Reduce Symptoms
- “10 Ways to Cope With Big Changes”: Try this advice from Psychology Today
- “7 Things You Need To Know To Deal With Major Life Changes”: Make sure you’re emotionally prepared for your transition
- “Guided Meditation For Change”: A half-hour meditation to help you move forward in life
- Moving Forward Through Transitions: This worksheet was created by Lea Sloan, M Ed, LPC, BCC, to help you figure out your goals and strengths when moving through a transition
Health Changes
- “5 Tips For Dealing With A Life-Changing Diagnosis”: Dr. Joel Young shares reliable ways to gain comfort and further information following a diagnosis
- “5 Easy Ways to Reduce Stress and Increase Health As You Age”: Scientifically-backed methods for coping with age-related changes in stress and overall wellbeing
- “Coping with a Terminal Illness”: An end-of-life care guide, with attention to the emotional experiences that follow terminal diagnoses
Apps
- Shopwell: Helps you navigate food purchases based on new dietary needs and restrictions
- Habitbull: Receive incentives for engaging in personalized habits, from refraining from alcohol to walking to work to remembering to take your medication
- SuperBetter: Play games that strengthen your emotional resiliency
Home Changes
- Moving Checklist: A thorough checklist for preparing your new home, packing, cleaning, and more
- Foursquare: Find exciting places to eat, experience entertainment, and more in your new location
- Pet Movers: Get support transporting your pet to your new location
Apps
- The Big Moving Adventure: Teach your child what to expect in your next move
- Various Apps: These apps are designed to help you find an apartment
Parenthood
- National Parent Helpline: Receive emotional support from trained counselors at this helpline (1-855-427-2736)
- “8 Ways for New Parents to Get More Sleep”: Parents share how they maximized their sleeping potential
- Infant CPR: Learn how to perform CPR on your child
- “Top 10 Breastfeeding Tips”: Advice for those getting used to breastfeeding
- The New Parent Podcasts: This podcast from Hand in Hand Parenting talks about recovering from difficult births, developing good responses to your child’s crying, helping your baby with separation anxiety, and other important steps
- “How to Lobby for Employee Adoption Benefits”: This article discusses how to advocate for parental benefits (paid adoption leave, etc) within your workplace.
- Adoption Tax Credit: This online course explains how adoptive families can benefit from the adoption tax credit
Apps
- Cloud Baby Monitor: Turn your phone into a monitor with live video, noise, and motion alerts
- Baby Feeding Log: Track feedings, diaper changes, and sleep with this app
- Bubble Wrap: Entertain your toddler by letting them pop onscreen bubbles with this app
- Redrover: Find kid-friendly entertainment near you
- SitorSquat: Find the nearest bathroom, wherever you are
Professional Changes
- What’s Next: Support for those searching to change careers, retire, start their own business, and more
- Various Job Boards: Find and apply for jobs on websites like Indeed, CareerBuilder, and more.
- Live Career: Build a resume and/or cover letter, become familiar with common interview questions, and perform a job search on this site
- Jobcase: A job source for those searching for nontraditional and/or hourly work
- Glassdoor: Check employee reviews of potential future employers (or write a review of your own organization)
- “The 10-Step Plan to Career Change”: How to plan and execute your professional shift
- Handbooks for the Long-Term Unemployed: Deloitte and the Rockefeller Center created these guides for employers, job-seekers, and community leaders to provide support to the unemployed
- Get Five: This blog is filled with resources to help you on your employment search, with pieces on how to find a job when you’re relocating, looking for remote work, and more
- “When To Turn Down A Job Offer”: The pressure is on to accept that new job—but could it be an unhealthy choice?
Apps
For Allies
Give the Best Support Possible
- “How To Support A Loved One Through A Major Life Change”: Advice for aiding the person you love as they experience a transition
Health Changes
- “18 Things You Can Do When A Person You Love Is Facing A Scary Diagnosis”: Steps you can take to be a great source of support and love
- “7 Ways To Support A Friend Or Relative With Health Problems”: An overview of common forms of assistance, medical and emotional, that a loved one may need
- “Terminal Illness: Supporting a Terminally Ill Loved One”: The Mayo Clinic offers tips on how to help your loved one cope with a terminal diagnosis
- Self-Care For Caregivers: Arielle Mesa, LICSW, examines how those caring for their loved ones can maintain their own health and happiness
Home Changes
- “How To Adjust When Your Child Is Moving Out For The First Time”: Figure out how to help both your child and yourself during this major transition
- “Helping Your Friends Move with Brawns and Brains”: Make sure to have every item on this checklist to maximize your helping potential
Parenthood
- “10 Ways to REALLY Help Someone With a New Baby”: Help the new parent get some sleep, spend time with older children, or just do what they want for a little while
- “How to Help a New Mom”: 20 tips for helping a new mother or father get through their daily tasks. This article focuses on new moms, but this advice applies for new dads as well!
- “10 Ways to Help a Pregnant Friend”: From driving your friend to doctor’s visits to hosting a “babyette” (a bachelor or bachelorette party for a soon-to-be-parent), here are ideas for supporting your friend before they give birth
- “4 Tips for Becoming a Grandparent”: Make sure you and your family are on the same page as roles and expectations shift
Professional Changes
- “How to Help a Friend Make a Career Change”: Support and encourage your friend during this stressful process
- “How To Support A Friend Who Just Lost Their Job”: How to be a good friend to someone who’s faced professional rejection
You’re Not Alone
Connect with Others, Hear their Stories & Access Playlists
- Talks to Remind You That Your Story Isn’t Over: These TED talks will inspire you to bounce back up after any setback
Health Changes
- Healingwell: An online chronic illness community
- The Invisible Illnesses: Stories from individuals living with “invisible” illnesses like anxiety, Auditory Processing Disorder, eating disorders, and more
- Cancer Support Groups: Online, telephone, and in-person support groups for those dealing with cancer
- “This is What it Feels Like to Live With Mental Illness”: A video from Buzzfeed about different people’s experiences with depression, anxiety disorders, and other conditions
- “My Story of Being Diagnosed with Autism Late”: Model Melissa Koole shares her story of being diagnosed with Asperger’s at age 19
- “Feeling Like Old News”: The writer of “Dear Melanoma” shares how it feels to still need support 3 years after her initial diagnosis
- “My Hubby”: The husband of a cancer patient shares his experience as his wife’s number one supporter
- “Real Women”: Women share their stories with heart disease
Home Changes
- “Moving,” This American Life: This radio show looks at people who were forced to move by circumstances out of their control, and how they handled the transition
- Expat Forum: An internet community of people who have moved or are hoping to move abroad
Parenthood
- “5 Twin Birth Stories: Variations of Normal”: A collection of five different experiences with twins, including IVF, C-section, and more
- “Parenting with PTSD: There Are Good Days and Bad Days”: One mother opens up on the added challenge of caring for her children while dealing with symptoms of trauma
- “From Traumatic Cesarean to Postpartum Depression”: One mother shares her story
- “8 Ways for New Parents to Get More Sleep”: Parents share how they maximized their sleeping potential
- Choice Moms: Community and resources for those who choose to become single mothers
Professional Changes
- “8 Inspiring Stories of How People Really Got the Job”: Hiring stories from LinkedIn job searchers, people over 40 looking to change their career, and even the founder and CEO of Nasty Gal
- “6 Inspiring Stories From People Who Unexpectedly Lost Their Jobs”: From being fired to watching their company go bankrupt, these stories examine the hardships—and unexpected upsides—of losing your position
Tune In
Check out our Spotify playlist for Life Changes here!
- “Changes,” David Bowie & QUEEN
- “Fast Car,” Tracy Chapman
- “Wildflowers,” Tom Petty
- “It’s Time,” Imagine Dragons
- “Waiting For My Real Life to Begin,” Colin Hay
- “(Just Like) Starting Over,” John Lennon
- “A Change Will Do You Good,” Sheryl Crow
- “Where Do I Go?,” Hair
- “Hometown Glory,” Adele
- “Brand New Day,” Sting
- “Change,” Taylor Swift
- “Landslide,” Fleetwood Mac
- “Unwritten,” Natasha Bedingfield
- “Freefalling,” Tom Petty
- “One Way Ticket,” Carrie Underwood
- “Wide Open Spaces,” Dixie Chicks
- “How Far I’ll Go,” Moana
- “Try Everything,” Shakira
- “Brave,” Sara Bareilles
- “I Won’t Back Down,” Tom Petty
Master The Subject
Learn How it Works & The Science Behind It
Health Changes
- Mayo Clinic: The Mayo Clinic’s website offers information about the causes, symptoms, and treatments of hundreds of physical and psychological conditions
- National Institutes of Health (NIH): The USA’s official medical research agency
- “Chronic Illness News”: The latest news regarding conditions like heart disease, lower back pain, Parkinson’s, and more from Science Daily
- “Invisible Illness or Chronic Illness? What’s the Difference?”: Is your illness chronic or “invisible?” What does that mean?
- Chronic Babe: An online blog and forum designed for women coping with chronic illnesses like HIV/AIDS, fibromyalgia, arthritis, and more
- “Dealing with a Mental Illness Diagnosis”: Advice for adjusting to and accepting your mental health diagnosis
- “American Heart Association Support Network”: Connect with others, hear survivor stories, and access resources related to heart health
- “Newly Diagnosed: Diabetes”: Information on causes and treatment for diabetes, aimed towards those newly diagnosed.
Home Changes
- The Art of Happy Moving: Ali Wenzke, who once moved 10 times in 11 years, created this blog and resource center to ease the moving process for others
- “Top 10 Emotions When Moving House”: Common emotional experiences when transitioning to a new home
- “Minimalist Moving: Decluttering For a Lighter Load and New Home”: Tips for determining what you’ll really need in your new home
- “Moving Elderly Parents”: Advice on helping senior parents transition to a new home
- “How to Move to a New City with No Money and No Prospects”: How to get by when your slate has been wiped totally clean
Parenthood
- New Parent: Advice and resources for parents
- Healthy Children: Learn more about parenting children of all ages from this website, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics
- The National Parenting Center: Dedicated to providing advice for parents from pregnancy to their child’s teen years
- Parents: Safety tips, recipes, shared parenting stories, and more
- “Maternity Monday: The Reality of Postpartum Depression”: This blog post defines postpartum depression and offers advice for supporting yourself and/or loved ones
- “New Mom Guilt: Why You’re Not Failing as a Mother”: This blog post tackles the common fear that we’re failing as parents
- “Top 10 Breastfeeding Tips”: Advice for those getting used to breastfeeding
- “Music Therapy Can Comfort and Soothe Premature Infants and Parents”: A review of the therapeutic benefits of music
- Postpartum Support: Education and resources for parents suffering from postpartum depression
- Support for NICU Parents: Resources for both parents and professionals
Professional Changes
- “How to Move Into a New Career Without Starting From the Bottom”: For those looking to change career paths without starting their professional paths all over
- “Getting Fired: The Best Thing To Ever Happen To You”: Getting fired isn’t always as bad as we think—this blog explores reasons why this seeming rejection may be a needed change and/or an exciting opportunity
- “Too Busy To Change Careers? Not With These Techniques”: How to apply for a new job even when other life requirements have you feeling stressed
- “How to Handle Getting Fired”: Coping with being let go from your job
- “6 Effective Ways to Deal With Criticism”: This webpage describes how to productively take in negative feedback
- “Thriving During a Major Job (or Life) Transition, ft. Lea Sloan, M Ed, LPC, BPC”: Former career consultant Lea Sloan offers advice on how to successfully manage a life or career-related transition
- “How to Survive and Thrive in an Unhealthy Work Environment”: Tips for getting by in a dysfunctional and/or difficult workplace
- “Beating Workplace Burnout”: Advice for getting over natural periods of burnout
Advocate
Connect to the Larger Movement
Health Changes
- MentalHealth.Gov: Created by the US Department of Health and Human Services to benefit those coping with mental health issues
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): The US’s largest grassroots mental health organization
- Cancer Support Community: Dedicated to empowering all people impacted by cancer through knowledge, action, and community
- “American Heart Association Support Network”: Connect with others, hear survivor stories, and access resources related to heart health
- Kaleidoscope Fighting Lupus: Education, inspiring stories, organized events, and more for those living with lupus
- The John A. Hartford Foundation: This foundation is dedicated to improving elder care across the US
- Family Caregiving Alliance: A nonprofit designed to support caregivers
Home Changes
- National Association of Senior Move Managers: This organization specializes in working with older family members during this major transition
Parenthood
- National Parent Helpline: In addition to a phone helpline, this organization offers online resources designed to support the emotional health of parents across the nation
- National Parent Teacher Association (PTA): Dedicated to engaging and empowering families to advocate for children’s education
- The National Parenting Center: Dedicated to providing advice for parents from pregnancy to their child’s teen years
Professional Changes
- Social Services: Government programs designed to help those struggling economically
- Hiring Our Heroes: A nationwide initiative to find employment for US veterans