Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes

by William Bridges

6. Find someone to talk to. Whether you choose a professional counselor or just a good friend, you will need someone to talk to when you are going through an important transition in your relationships. What you primarily need is not advice, although that may occasionally be useful, but rather the opportunity to put into words your dilemmas and your feelings so that you can fully understand what is going on. Beware of the listener who “knows exactly what you ought to do,” but also be suspicious if you find yourself explaining away your listener’s reactions whenever they don’t happen to fit with yours—especially if several people have reacted the same way to what you say.