Life is constantly changing, no matter how much we want to avoid it. If you don’t prepare for or anticipate change, it creates major disruptions in your life as you know. Many of us are going through life transitions even without realizing it. During the phase of life transition, the existing normal is terminated and a new normal is established.

Stress and anxiety usually set in whenever life-changing events aren’t favourable. A change in your social, mental, and physical reality can be challenging. All these factors play a role in how you deal with daily life, perceive normal circumstances and make important decisions. Making potentially critical and new financial decisions could trigger a mix of emotions you have not seen in a long time. When you’ve transitioned to the new normal, the future can either be a joyful, hopeful, secure one, or a bleak one fraught with financial problems and stress. The transition phase determines the new path.

Physical Change –

The way you feel about a change is how it affects your health, a difficult change can result in anxiety, stress and apprehension. Cortisol, a stress hormone, can have a temporary positive effect on the body when stressed at high levels. A long-term increase in cortisol can lead to heart failure, diabetes, memory loss, damage to brain cells and anxiety attacks. During a time of crisis, the brain reverts back to a primitive state where it only knows to survive and not think strategically or rationally.

Mental/Psychological Change –

When the brain is operating in a primitive mode, coping skills, practical reasoning, memory, and attention span are all asleep and unavailable when you need them most. Taking any crucial and life-changing decisions in this state is not recommended. Anxiety, grief, emotional vulnerability, and fear can affect your thinking ability. It may be impossible for you to recognize the early signs of trouble that could delay your transition due to all the emotions you are experiencing.

Social Change –

The change may cause a sense of isolation, the old, comfortable routine no longer exists, and you may or may not have the same financial or social status. Due to the change you are experiencing, it is possible that you have lost your footing in the social circle. This can make you emotionally very vulnerable, resulting in conflicts with friends and family. A situation like this may cause you to withdraw and begin doubting yourself.

Planning the transition –

Being aware of what you are experiencing and why it is happening can be helpful when coping with the transition. You should seek the advice of a good financial advisor to whom you can explain the situation and how you feel. If the professional has this information, they will be able to advise you, to prepare a custom protocol tailored to your needs.

After the transition phase has ended or after the change has occurred, it isn’t a good idea to put a plan in place. The transition should be planned as soon as you notice a possibility of change or when it first occurs. The process will assist you in implementing a safety plan and making good decisions so that you may minimise the stress and financial strains that have a probability to occur.