Why Periods of Change Make You Stronger (and How to Cope!)

Change is often stressful or even traumatic, but it cannot be avoided. Time itself is essentially an abstracted measurement of change, and as sports journalists are often desperate to say: father time is undefeated. And so when we embark on our journey through life, we must accept that change is an inevitable consequence of that journey. 

So why does change feel so stressful, even if the change is potentially positive? What are the tools we use in therapy to grow in response to change rather than shrinking? What does it mean to accept change, even when we don’t approve of it?

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

Why Is Change So Stressful? 

Change, even when positive, is stressful because it disrupts our sense of safety and predictability. It interrupts the routines, rituals, and rest that otherwise help us to cope with our stress. Therapy provides a safe space to explore these responses and develop coping strategies, but there is immense utility in understanding how and why these changes can make such an impact on our brain. 

• We All Suffer From Uncertainty Bias.  Human beings like to know what’s coming next. We are naturally biased against outcomes that are uncertain, and when faced with them, it can often result in stress. In fact, the prospect of an uncertain outcome has been shown to be more stressful to us than the promise of a negative outcome. 
• We Are Burnt Out.  Change can feel entirely overwhelming when we’re suffering from burnout. When we don’t take care of ourselves, work our bodies to exhaustion, and neglect our own feelings, sooner or later we become burnt out and numb to any situation’s potential even if it is positive.
• We Don’t Know Which Tools To Reach For. Change is at its most overwhelming when we don’t have a strategy to cope with it.  Knowing the right tools and having a plan for how to use them can offer us safety and a sense of security even when we don’t know what’s coming next. 

Which Therapists In St. Petersburg Accept My Instance?

Starting therapy often brings big change, and with it, a mix of emotions—uncertainty, worry, and even overwhelm. At Integrative Counsel, we see these moments of transition not just as challenges, but as opportunities to practice the skills you’ll use throughout your healing journey. Change can feel uncomfortable, but it also opens the door to growth, resilience, and relief.

When you schedule your intake, we’ll walk with you through each step of this change—whether that means exploring in-network options, using a sliding scale, submitting a superbill for reimbursement, or connecting you with another trusted provider. Our goal is to help you approach the changes that come with starting therapy with the same patience and persistence you’ll be cultivating in sessions.

Counselors Who Accept Aetna Insurance. If you’re beginning therapy with Aetna coverage, we can help you embrace this change with confidence. Our trauma-informed, in-network therapists make it easier to step into care without the added strain of financial uncertainty, allowing you to focus on the positive shift therapy can bring.

Therapists Who Accept Cigna Insurance. Searching for a Cigna-covered therapist who understands the lasting impact of childhood trauma can feel overwhelming. At Integrative Counsel, we support you in navigating this change by pairing you with compassionate, in-network providers who specialize in trauma recovery, so you can redirect your energy toward healing rather than paperwork.

Therapy for People With Optum. Whether your coverage is through Optum Oscar, Optum Oxford, or United Optum, we help you find a therapist who meets you where you are—geographically, emotionally, and financially. Each step in this process is a chance to lean into change, practice flexibility, and discover that with support, even difficult transitions can lead to meaningful progress.

How To Cope With Change In Therapy

If the therapist you’re working with is really good, they cultivate and share a safe space for you to explore your deepest feelings. The right counselor can help you slow down and notice your reactions rather than pushing them away, creating space to process what the change means for you. With the foundation of therapy, we can transmute even painful changes into clarity and compassion for ourselves and others.

These are some of the tools we use in therapy to find our inner strength when things are changing: 

• Therapy Can Break You Out Of Your Rut. Therapy can provide the perspective and tools needed to create movement, no matter how stuck you feel. A professional can help you see through your old patterns of behavior and help you find a better way to be.
• Counseling Can Help You See The Silver Lining. In the midst of a big change, it’s easy to get tangled up in the imperfections. In therapy, we can disentangle our complicated feelings from the complicated reality and find the potential for  growth and joy in our changing situation.
• In Therapy, We Learn How To Radically Accept. Although it is imperative to change what we can in this life for the better, it is equally imperative to radically accept the things we cannot change. When we excoriate and admonish ourselves for circumstances beyond our control, it is no better than banging our forehead against a large rock.

How Can You Get Anxiety Relief Through Change? 

When we’re stuck in routines, relationships, or environments that keep triggering worry, the nervous system can remain in a constant state of tension. If not for change itself, we would be doomed to linger in anxiety forever. Just as change can bring stress and anxiety to us, it can also foster a renewed sense of hope.

• Things Don’t Have To Be That Way Anymore. Even though all good things must eventually come to an end, the same is true of all the dirty, rotten, and undesirable things. When everything has been the same for what feels like an eternity, that’s exactly when we ought to expect a big change (and all the curses and blessings that change might bring). 
• The Past Is Not The Present Or The Future. Often we fear change because of frightening or traumatic changes that happened in our past. It’s reasonable to have your actions informed by these experiences, but it’s unreasonable to live in constant fear of them. Because everything changes, and that is the only constant we can rely on, there is no pain that will last forever and there is no scar that will not heal with love and time.
• Focus On What Is True, Not What You Fear To Be True. With uncertainty comes the frightful machinations of the anxious mind, but even that is nothing to be afraid of. Human beings have been helping each other to stay afloat through big changes for thousands of years. Find your center, remember what is true, and allow your thoughts to come and pass like waves upon the shore. 

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.” – Terry Pratchett

Where Can I Find Affordable Group Therapy In St. Petersburg?

Sometimes, you need the support of others to get through periods of change. Alli will be offering a six-session therapy group in October that offers a safe, guided space to explore transitions through creativity, movement, story, and ritual. If you’re navigating change and feeling stuck between old and new, or just wanting to strengthen your resilience for change and create more self-awareness with others in your community, this group is for you. 

Send us an email at hello@integrativecounsel.com for more information! 

Sunny Ebsary is an educator, multi-modal artist, and writer specializing in the intersection of myth and mental health. Sunny’s writing walks the line between poetic and logical, giving readers a chance to interface with the mind and imagination. Sunny’s been putting pen to paper since he was a child, writing everything from albums, novels, and plays, to essays, interactive games, and of course, many articles! While studying both psychology and writing, he realized his real passion in life was helping others unlock their creative spark. Whether he’s leading a D&D game, directing a production, or diving deep into the brain, you can be sure Sunny will be ushering you toward finding meaning in your life.