Psychological Circles If one could name a feature common to all the clients who have contacted us in the past sixteen years, this common feature might be called the need for a change. The need for change is often masked by clients’ various problems, sometimes somatic and sometimes only psychological.
Of course, the majority of our clients are not aware of that need, but once the need is rationalized, they experience the fear of changing the actual situation. Why?
When we come to think of a change we realize that there are at least three groups of changes during our lifetime. The first group of changes is caused by our rational decisions.
In different life periods we all make certain decisions: to lose weight, to change partners, to stop smoking, to take care of the household budget, to change jobs, etc.
However, soon after making a decision we are faced with the fact that it is hard to carry out some of the most ordinary changes. Why?
The second group of changes has nothing to do with our rational decisions. They arise as a result of our growing up and gaining maturity. If you think that this is only about childhood and youth, you are wrong. We grow up, mature, and change throughout our lives.
We can become aware of it suddenly, when we discover the first wrinkles on our face one morning or realize that our body is not so young anymore. When we discover and accept that, the need for a change becomes imperative.
“One cannot live in the noon of one’s life with a programme for the morning”, wrote Carl Gustav Jung. Why?
The third group of changes befalls us usually suddenly, when our reality unexpectedly alters. These are the situations in our lives when we face difficult and painful events: the loss of a loved one, serious illness, or the loss of a job.
When people experience such a thing, most of them go through a short but extremely painful condition called crisis. During that process one intensively looks for new solutions which lead to changes.
Apart from being painful, this search is connected with numerous dangers – of losing balance or losing ground beneath one’s feet. Therefore it is advisable that such a process takes place with the help of a trained counselor.
