Life's Changes
For the past fortnight, my husband and I have been having to get used to something that we hadn’t experienced for almost 27 years – a house with no children in it. Two weeks ago, we took our youngest to Manchester and deposited him in his university halls of residence; almost to the day 8 years before, we had made a similar trip with our eldest.
Unlike our son, who for the past year had been counting down the days, I really wasn’t sure how much I was looking forward to his leaving. I had very few worries about him, but how would my husband and I cope with only each other for company? And, more profoundly, what does it mean for us in terms of how we frame this next part of our lives? Going from being parents every day, to just being ourselves … How will that feel? What do we do?
Our lives now are very different to the ones we had before the kids came along. Being nearly 30 years older means our interests have changed – we no longer go out to bars every night! Back then we had the prospect of careers and children to look forward to and time seemed endless; now we know how it is, indeed, far from infinite and that it goes by quicker than we can believe.
Such a time of profound change can seem almost like a period of mourning – for the loss of the life we were used to, to the roles we played, and to our sense of purpose. Gaps in our days can be difficult to fill, and the loss of routine can make us feel rudderless. People who have retired can feel like this, as can those adjusting to life after losing someone close. We can be left feeling at sea; anxiety or a lack of confidence can make it difficult to decide what to do next, or stop us making crucial first steps to start new lives doing all the things we dreamt of over the years when we had no time to do them.
If you find yourself in a similar position, do consider Cognitive Behavioural Hypnotherapy as a way of helping you move forward. Through a range of simple yet effective techniques, CBH can help you reduce your anxiety and build your self-confidence, helping you overcome the barriers and negative thoughts you are placing in your own mind, which are stopping you from achieving new things. Through hypnosis you will be able to rehearse being the person you want to be, doing the things you want to do. You will be able to see yourself in your future role clearly and build the confidence and the behavioural skills to go ahead and actually do it.
Life is short, we must make the most of it and follow our dreams. Let me help you off the starting blocks.
