HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE

How to Deal With Change

THE CHALLENGE

Your dad's job requires that your family relocate

Your best friend is moving far away. 

Your older sibling is leaving home to get married. 

How well would you adapt to those changes?

A tree can bend  with the wind is more likely to survive a storm. Like that tree, you can learn to "bend" with changes over which you have little or no control. Before discussing how you can do that, though, consider a few things you should know about change.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW

Change is inevitable. The Bible states a fundamental truth about humans:  "Unexpected events overtake them all."  (Ecclesiastes 9:11)  Sooner or later, you will be confronted with the reality of those words. Of course, not all unexpected events are bad.  And some changes that at first seemed to be bad might turn out to be advantageous. Nevertheless, most people thrive on routing, while change-whether good or bad -rattles their comfort zone. 

Change can be particularly stressful for adolescents.  Why?  You're already going through internal changes," explains a young man named Alex. External changes just add to the stress."  

Here is another reason:  When adults face a change, they can refer to their personal 'book of experience' to see how they dealt with  similar situations in the past. But young people have less history on which to draw.

You can learn to adapt. Resilience is the ability to recover from misfortune or adjust to a change. A resilient person can not only endure a new circumstance but also look at a seeming obstacle and see an opportunity  in it.  Resilient teens are less likely to turn to drugs or alcohol when they feel overwhelmed.  

Next time: HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE/How to Deal With Change

From the Awake! magazine