essay on life transition

Life is in the Transitions

Mastering change at any age.

INSTANT TOP 10 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

A pioneering and timely study of how to navigate life’s biggest transitions with meaning, purpose, and skill.

Bruce Feiler, author of the New York Times bestsellers The Secrets of Happy Families and Council of Dads , has long explored the stories that give our lives meaning. Galvanized by a personal crisis, he spent the last few years crisscrossing the country, collecting hundreds of life stories of Americans in all 50 states who’d been through major life changes—from losing jobs to losing loved ones; changing careers to changing relationships; getting sober to getting healthy to simply looking for a fresh start. He then spent a year coding these stories, identifying patterns and takeaways that can help all of us survive and thrive in times of change.

What Feiler discovered was a world in which transitions are becoming more plentiful and the skills to manage them more urgent for all of us to master. The idea that we’ll have one job, one relationship, one source of happiness is hopelessly outdated. We all feel unnerved by this upheaval. We’re concerned that our lives are not what we expected, that we’ve veered off course, living life out of order. But we’re not alone.

Life Is in the Transitions introduces the fresh, illuminating vision of the nonlinear life, in which each of us faces dozens of disruptors. One in ten of those becomes what Feiler calls a lifequake, a massive change that leads to a life transition. The average length of these transition is five years. The upshot: We all spend half our lives in this unsettled state. You or someone you know is going through one now.

The most exciting thing Feiler identified is a powerful new toolkit for navigating these pivotal times. Drawing on his extraordinary trove of insights, he lays out specific strategies each of us can use to reimagine and rebuild our lives, often stronger than before.

From a master storyteller with an essential message, Life Is in the Transitions can move readers of any age think deeply about times of change and how to transform them into periods of creativity and growth.

Buy the Book

• Amazon (Audio Book)
• Barnes & Noble
• Powell’s

Reading Group Guide

• Life Is In The Transitions Reading Guide

Gift A Life Story Project To A Loved One

Bruce’s newsletter.

Chapter 5 of Feiler’s Life Is in the Transitions Essay

Introduction.

Change is a necessary part of life that helps people gain a sense of purpose by synthesizing past events and projecting future happenings. In Chapter Five: Shape-Shifting of Bruce Feiler’s book Life is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age , he evaluates how certain life-changing events often drive people to reevaluate the meaning of their lives. The chapter successfully demonstrates the importance of “shape-shifting” when rebuilding oneself by effectively combining different writing styles and integrating reliable sources and life stories without veering off from the overall topic in Feiler’s book.

Feiler lays out well-thought strategies to best navigate life’s most significant transitions with purpose, meaning, and skill in Life is in the Transitions . His study draws from numerous life stories of Americans to identify patterns and key takeaways to help people survive in times of change. He envisions life as a nonlinear process of transitions caused by the various disruptors or life quakes people face at different stages in life. Since Fiedler outlines the A-B-C of significance in this chapter and his study, it fits the book well. In his analogy of the three sources of meaning towards the end of the chapter, Feiler claims that “it often takes a major rift to compel us to reexamine our priorities. And that reexamination takes us in surprising directions” (Feiler 131). A person who cares about taking control of their life through decision-making is said to be autonomous, represented as an A. B, which stands for belonging, symbolizes people who believe that belonging to a unit is very important to them. Finally, C, which stands for cause, shows people who participate in a broader context while being motivated by a cause, making them feel important in life (Feiler 132). The chapter effectively helps the author build on the book’s primary topics of purpose and meaning in life as crucial drivers of life transitions.

Feiler has effectively woven descriptive, expository, and narrative writing styles in this chapter to help readers understand how significant life shifts help them reevaluate the meaning of life. The chapter is well structured into four sections, each using examples from the life stories of Americans and other scholars to demonstrate the importance of life quake events in self-actualization. The first section combines descriptive storytelling and narration to retell the life story of Jamie Levine and how losing a lucrative job forced him to reevaluate his priorities, turning him into a family man and a better leader. He then uses Dante Alighieri’s poem, the biography of Augustine of Hippo, and several other accounts from his conversations with Americans to equate life quake events with death and autobiographical occasions. Feiler uses simple and easy-to-understand language that readers can follow through and comprehend throughout. The last two paragraphs effectively summarize the chapter and persuade readers to proceed to the following chapters for the best skills to navigate life transitions.

Throughout the chapter, Feiler effectively uses both primary and secondary information sources to support his arguments on how significant life changes help us reevaluate the meaning of life. He occasionally retells the stories of different Americans from his countrywide interviews, often quoting their responses. For instance, Feiler quotes the words of Nisha Zenoff, Travis Roy, and Maillard Howell, among others, to build the view of a life quake as death (Feiler 122). Towards the beginning of chapter 5, the author echoes a quote from Dante Alighieri’s poem, The Divine Comedy, where he “compares his state of mind to not just a crooked road, but death itself” (Feiler 122). The chapter also utilizes the memoir of Augustine to term the significant life changes as autobiographical occasions, a term coined by Robert Zussman. Using his storytelling proficiency, Feiler sufficiently integrates his crisis, interviews, and the works of renowned scholars to build compelling arguments.

The chapter offers substantial and transformative insights into how life experiences give meaning to our lives. Towards the end of chapter 5, Feiler introduces shape-shifting as an essential undertaking that “involves rebalancing the relative weight we give to each of our three sources of meaning and the shapes that embody them-agency (line), belonging (circle), and cause (star)” (Feiler 130). The real-life examples used to explain the three pillars of meaning effectively explain the different types of shape shifts and the importance of balancing these pillars. The chapter does well in demonstrating the nonlinear aspect of life, a foundational concept in the book. This chapter has significantly shaped how I respond to significant life shifts learning to perceive them as normal life transitions and approach them as periods of self-reflection and growth.

In general, by skillfully fusing various writing styles, incorporating trustworthy sources, and weaving in real-life examples, the chapter effectively illustrates the significance of shape-shifting when recreating oneself without departing from the central theme of Feiler’s book. The elaborate discussion of shape-shifting demonstrates the nonlinear nature of life, deeming life-quake events as an essential part of growth. The mechanics of life transitions which are often poorly understood raise concerns about how one could successfully handle life changes. Making sense of one’s meaning usually involves re-examining their priorities which may not necessarily imply that they make forthcoming choices. Successfully navigating some of these significant life transitions will often require individuals to make well-informed decisions.

Feiler, Bruce. Life is in the transitions: Mastering change at any age . Penguin, 2021.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2023, August 4). Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chapter-5-of-feilers-life-is-in-the-transitions/

"Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions." IvyPanda , 4 Aug. 2023, ivypanda.com/essays/chapter-5-of-feilers-life-is-in-the-transitions/.

IvyPanda . (2023) 'Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions'. 4 August.

IvyPanda . 2023. "Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions." August 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chapter-5-of-feilers-life-is-in-the-transitions/.

1. IvyPanda . "Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions." August 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chapter-5-of-feilers-life-is-in-the-transitions/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Chapter 5 of Feiler's Life Is in the Transitions." August 4, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/chapter-5-of-feilers-life-is-in-the-transitions/.

• Discussion of Family Education Aspects
• “Inferno” by Dante Alighieri: Is Dante a Good Student or Not
• Dante Alighieri and the Divine Comedy
• Six Circles of "Inferno" by Dante Alighieri
• Beatrice's Character: "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri
• Culture in "Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri
• Sins and Sinners in “Inferno” and “Purgatorio” by Dante Alighieri
• Sordello and Statius in “Purgatorio” by Dante Alighieri
• Different Meanings in Dante Alighieri's “The Divine Comedy”
• "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri Literature Analysis
• Coalition in Solving the Lack of Food Resources
• The Role of Urban Community Development Office in Thailand
• The Commonpoint Queens Agency's Volunteer Programs
• Adaptation in Paradise, California
• Importance of Sustainability in Different Spheres

• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

IResearchNet

Life Transitions

Life transitions may be defined as significant changes within the life course. According to the life course perspective, lives are composed of multiple, interrelated developmental trajectories. For example, a life course includes personal relationship trajectories, an educational trajectory, an employment trajectory, and physical health trajectories, among others. These trajectories are marked or accentuated by significant life transitions, with transitions in one trajectory often necessitating or involving transitions in another. The transition to adulthood may involve a residential transition from the family of origin to independent residence, graduation from high school and enrollment in some form of higher education or entry into the workforce, and significant relationship transitions as individuals move away from old friends and form new connections. The implications of life transitions, from a counseling perspective, vary dramatically by historical period, socioeconomic status, gender, race and ethnicity, as well as by individual factors such as personality, coping styles, social support networks, and other resources.

Life Course Transitions

A traditional developmental perspective describes developmental tasks to be completed at each stage or transition in life. For instance, a Western developmental perspective might define the transition to adulthood as involving further establishment of personal identity, and increasing social and economic independence from parents. A life course perspective acknowledges the developmental uniqueness of transitions, but emphasizes the embedding of transitions within social contexts and historic and temporal processes. Thus, the meaning of a given transition, and individuals’ ease in traversing it, depends on the social contexts within which it occurs. Similarly, the effects of social contexts on individuals depend on the stage or transition in the life course during which they occur. For example, research on the psychological and socioeconomic effects of military experiences during World War II found that effects depended on whether entry into the military occurred in early or later adulthood. For those entering the military right out of high school and before they had invested heavily in their careers, military service often resulted in positive socioeconomic outcomes in later adulthood, as it provided training and work experiences, educational, health, and financial benefits, as well as a much improved economy upon returning home. In contrast, for those entering the military in their early 30s, military experience represented a major interruption of careers and family lives, resulting in significant setbacks upon returning home.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code.

An important distinction is whether transitions occur at normative times and in normative sequences. Life course theory posits that life transitions are age graded, meaning that they typically occur within a given age range, and in a normative sequence. Transitions that occur at unusual ages (i.e., “off time”), or out of sequence, may be particularly difficult. The loss of a parent, for example, although never insignificant, has been found to have very different consequences if it occurs early in life (e.g., during childhood) or at a more normative age in later midlife. In addition to the timing of transitions, their duration is also of consequence. Research on the effects of poverty for children, for example, finds that short spells of poverty are less detrimental than prolonged exposures to economic hardship.

Contrary to developmental perspectives that emphasize continuity and the linear unfolding of human development over time, life course theory emphasizes discontinuity and nonlinearity. For example, research into the effects of job loss and other economic strains during the Great Depression found that economic conditions interacted with personality characteristics. Men with a propensity for aggression became even more aggressive in response to these challenges, and this accentuation of personal characteristics continued across the life course. Perhaps more interesting, however, are how later life transitions may represent turning points within the life course. Research on deviance across the life course has observed an apparent paradox. When viewed retrospectively, nearly all criminals are observed to have had delinquent pasts. When viewed prospectively (i.e., forward in time), in contrast, few juvenile delinquents go on to commit crimes as adults. One reason for the change is that most delinquents are drawn away from deviance through later positive life transitions, such as obtaining stable jobs or entering good marriages. In part, this growing out of delinquency is consistent with a pattern known as adolescent limited delinquency. Other research on turning points emphasizes the social psychological and symbolic nature of changes in identities that enable one to take advantage of these potential resources in adulthood.

Life course theory also emphasizes that individuals’ transition experiences are inextricably linked to the lives of their significant others (e.g., spouses, partners, children, extended family members, friends, and other social networks). Thus, the effect of a transition is often moderated by the nature and extent of these social connections. For instance, research has found that undesirable economic transitions, such as loss of a job or loss of a family farm, affect parents, but also “spillover” to have detrimental consequences for children. Some research on gender differences in stress has found women to be more exposed to undesirable life events through their more extensive social support networks.

The Stress Process and Transitions

The stress process model offers additional insights into the potential effects of life transitions. Most broadly, the stress model predicts that undesirable life events (e.g., job loss, death of spouse) produce stress and may result in diminished psychological or physical well-being. Even desirable transitional events, such as the birth of a child or receiving a job promotion, require adaptations that may produce stress. The type or nature of a given life event is critical to understanding its potential consequences. An important distinction within the stress literature is whether a given life event or transition is acute or part of a more chronic pattern of stressors. By definition, acute stressors are of short duration. They also tend to be more randomly distributed within the population, and to have more limited and short-term consequences. Chronic stressors tend to be associated with socioeconomic and other (race and ethnicity, gender) disadvantages, and represent recurrent problems that may accumulate over the life course and result in serious outcomes (e.g., increased morbidity or mortality). For example, chronic stressors (e.g., unemployment, food insecurity, exposure to environmental hazards) and poor quality social services (e.g., schools, health care) associated with low socioeconomic and minority status are thought to produce a premature weathering of the body and increased risks of morbidity and mortality. Life events that are out of individuals’ control, are unexpected, and/or threaten salient personal identities are also found to be more stressful. For example, research has found job or economic-oriented life events to be more detrimental to men’s well-being than to women’s, as they threaten men’s identities as family economic providers. Women, in contrast, may be more influenced by undesirable life events within the family.

The stress literature also focuses attention on personal and social resources that individuals may draw upon to buffer the effects of transitional life events on well-being. Personal resources often associated with positive outcomes include self-esteem and self-efficacy. An individual’s repertoire of coping strategies may also moderate the consequences of life transitions. Persons with more active coping or problem-solving styles are often better able to deal with stressors than those who respond passively or by ignoring the problem. Research also finds that the way individuals appraise the causes of life events (i.e., causal attributions) influences outcomes. For instance, life events that can be attributable to external causes (e.g., job loss during the Great Depression) are less likely to result in negative psychological outcomes than those that are attributed to individual deficiencies. Studies of job losses have found that the more people are able to make lateral social comparisons to others in similar situations, and/or positive social comparisons to those worse off, the better they are able to cope with their own stressors. Research similarly finds that the degree to which the external community attributes life events to the person, versus external causes, influences the amount of social stigma people experience. The material and economic resources at individuals’ disposal are of obvious potential benefit for dealing with stressful life transitions. Relating closely to the life course concept of linked lives is the concept of social support. Perceived and actual social support (e.g., from spouses, external family, and social networks) is found to both directly influence well-being and to buffer against the negative effects of undesirable life events.

The life course and social stress literatures offer insights into understanding those who are best able to adapt to life transitions and other undesirable events. A variety of studies identify variables associated with resilient individuals (i.e., those able to beat the odds), including individual or social-psychological characteristics such as planfulness, self-efficacy, self-esteem, and intelligence; and social and socioeconomic resources such as community involvement, social support, human and financial capital, and high-quality public institutions and services. These perspectives also highlight the importance of considering how individuals and families actively adapt to their environments and transitional demands. In the study of families living in poor and/or dangerous neighborhoods, researchers have found that successful parents employ a variety of tactics to minimize youth’s exposure to community risks. Examples include “lock-ins,” early curfews, family chaperonage, restrictions on places children are allowed to go, and tight control over relationships with peers. Such practices might be characterized as too restrictive or “authoritarian” within lower-risk contexts, but within stressful environments, they appear to be positively adaptive.

Childhood Transitions

One of the first major transitions in life is the transition from home to formal schooling. Rather than a discrete transition, however, entry into formal schooling may include transitions from home to day care, from day care to prekindergarten (pre-K) programs, and from pre-K programs to kindergarten. Transitions from kindergarten to first grade, and subsequent grade transitions, must also be considered because of their unique developmental and social circumstances. Given associations between later academic difficulties and performance during the first several years of schooling, research and policymakers have focused on factors associated with school readiness, and interventions such as the Head Start program and other pre-K experiences. In addition to cognitive readiness, a student’s social and behavioral competencies are also critical. Entry into elementary school involves a considerable change in social context, as kindergartens and first grades are typically larger than preschool or day care arrangements, and involve a more rigid set of behavioral regulations. Most research indicates that positive relationships between children and adults (both teachers and parents) are critical to fostering readiness.

Other research has focused on the yearly transitions from school back to families and neighborhoods during summer breaks. Though children start the school year with varying abilities, research has shown that all children make gains at about the same rate over the school year. However, research has shown that educational inequality increases during the summer. It is believed that the relative lack of resources available within the families and communities of poor and minority children explain these growing disparities over the summer.

A particularly significant maturational transition during adolescence is puberty. Early pubertal development is potentially problematic for both males and females, as it is associated with early sexual activity and increased delinquency. Among boys, early pubertal development predicts both violent and nonviolent delinquency, likely due to its association with greater access to older peers. Early pubertal development among females is also associated with earlier sexual activity and greater exposure to intimate partner violence. Moreover, greater exposure to intimate partner violence may explain changing gender differences in psychological well-being during this period. Prior to puberty, males tend to have higher depression than females. This gender difference switches during puberty, with females developing higher rates of depression. This disparity is found to persist across much of adulthood. A related important issue for females is perceived body image. Negative perceived body image during adolescence has also been found to account for the higher depression and lower self-esteem of females relative to males.

Transitions from elementary school to middle school and from middle school to high school have also been found to be challenging. Many studies have observed setbacks during these transitions in psychological well-being and academic competence, including diminished perceptions of ability and loss of intrinsic motivations for learning. These transitions are thought to be difficult for several reasons, including ongoing pubertal development, the need to renegotiate peer relations within more diverse (e.g., in terms of ages and social statuses) student bodies, and the increasing competitiveness and stratification of schooling.

Transitions associated with family moves during childhood and adolescence may present challenges due to their disruption of friendship and other social networks. Research has found, however, that supportive parents may buffer youth against the negative effects of family mobility. The effects of family migration also vary as a function of social class and the impetus for moves. Moves associated with upward social mobility are likely to be less detrimental than are those associated with job losses, or that are necessitated by other undesirable life events. Though people’s stability in their community is generally found to be associated with positive outcomes, inability to move away from poor and dangerous neighborhoods may be associated with restricted access to resources and ongoing experiences of discrimination.

The Transition to Adulthood

Perhaps most examined is the transition to adulthood, which typically involves the multiple transitions of moving away from the family of origin, transitions to higher education and/or employment, and the formation of new family and other significant relationships. Transitions to higher education are now quite widespread, with nearly 70% of high school graduates continuing on to college as of 2005. Not surprisingly, this transition varies significantly across subgroups of the population, with women outpacing men, and Asian and White young adults more likely to be enrolled than African Americans and Latinos/as. Of increasing importance in the transition to higher education are community colleges and other 2-year institutions. Community colleges are particularly appealing to those who have traditionally been unable to pursue higher education, whether due to limited economic resources, poorer academic performance, or other risk factors. Graduate and professional degree programs have also increased in importance, further extending the transition to adulthood and delaying, for many, transitions to marriage and childbearing.

For disadvantaged youth, the transition to adulthood is becoming more perilous. Exposure to violence in poor neighborhoods and schools has been identified as a significant risk factor for poor psychological, social, and behavioral development (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder, aggression, depression). Exposure to violence undermines youth’s sense of control, frustrates learning, and may lead to a foreshortened adolescence. Exposure to street and intimate partner violence has been linked to a variety of “early exits” to adulthood, including dropping out of high school, running away from home, teen pregnancy, and suicidal thoughts. Another significant risk within the lives of disadvantaged young men is incarceration. Increasingly punitive federal and state policies and increased funding for police and penitentiary facilities over the past several decades have resulted in a tremendous growth of the incarcerated population. Most affected by this change are low-education minority men, for whom incarceration is now a nearly expected stage in the life course. For example, nearly 60% of African American males without a high school diploma will have spent some time in prison by their early 30s. For those who have been convicted of criminal offenses, the transition back into the community has also become more difficult due to increased surveillance and monitoring within the parole system, and to limitations placed on their rights to public services, employment and, in some cases, citizenship. The “collateral consequences” of incarceration to relationships between incarcerated men and their spouses and partners, children, and communities are beginning to receive increased research and policy attention. Though not widespread, comprehensive reunification and fatherhood programs within prisons and the community offer some promise for easing this transition.

Family transitions during early adulthood are becoming both more delayed and diverse. Numerous trends have affected family transitions over the past half century, including delayed age of marriage, increased rates of nonmarital fertility and single parent households, and increased cohabitation. Also contributing to fewer married households were rising divorce rates during the 1960s and ’70s, which leveled off and have declined somewhat since the early 1980s. Current projections of the likelihood of experiencing the transition to divorce vary based on assumptions about future demographic conditions. Nonetheless, between 43% and 50% of first marriages are likely to end in divorce within 15 years. These divorce rates vary considerably across subgroups, with women marrying at young ages considerably more likely to divorce than those marrying at later ages. Cohabitation prior to marriage is now the norm, but is also less likely to lead to marriage than in the past, particularly among low-income and minority couples. One very positive trend in recent years is a decline in teenage fertility, particularly among African American youth.

Policymakers have increasingly paid attention to these trends due to the mounting evidence that living in married couple families (i.e., versus single parent families) is associated with a wide range of socioeconomic, psychological, and physical health outcomes. Welfare reform, child support enforcement, and more recent marriage promotion and father involvement initiatives have each sought to change incentives related to marriage and nonmarital fertility. Critics, however, counter that marriage promotion among disadvantaged couples may not make economic sense due to the poor economic prospects of men, and may expose women and children to abuse and other risk factors in the lives of disadvantaged men. Other researchers point out that divorce may result in positive outcomes when it alleviates chronic stress or abuse within the family. As more fathers live apart from their children, researchers have sought to identify factors associated with positive outcomes for children. Fathers able to retain emotional closeness to their children and who actively engage in authoritative parenting have been found to be most successful.

The transition to parenthood is a life-changing process. Previous research finds, particularly in the case of a first birth, that the transition to parenthood frequently produces stress for the individual parents and the couple’s relationships. As with other transitions, the nature and degree of consequences depends on personal characteristics, individual and family adaptations, timing, and other contextual resources upon which parents may draw.

Midlife Transitions and Beyond

Perhaps the best-known concept associated with middle adulthood is the midlife crisis. The term usually refers to men’s lives and disappointments associated with transitions at work or within the family. Although surveys suggest that many adults expect to go through a midlife crisis at some time, it is perhaps more constructive to discuss the multiple transitions that men and women may face during an increasingly prolonged middle adulthood. Midlife has become both longer and more varied, due to improvements in health care and increased longevity, as well as changes in the nature of careers.

The notion of a single career, pursued within a single company, is a thing of the past, and was a construct that applied mostly to middle- and upper-class White men rather than all workers. It has been replaced for many by careers marked by employment for multiple companies, of mid-career “retooling” (going back to school), and significant career changes. Some have characterized this change as going from linear career trajectories to “negotiated” careers. Longitudinal studies of contemporary careers have identified several common career sequences, including the traditional stable, long-term tenure at a single firm, an upwardly mobile path with multiple transitions between jobs, intermittent careers with multiple entries and exits, and a stable part-time work trajectory. Men are more likely to follow the stable full-time and upwardly mobile paths, whereas women, especially those who are responsible for child or elder care, are more likely to pursue the intermittent and stable part-time routes.

Another common transition, particularly for women who have cut short their educations or careers due to family demands, is to go back to school and/ or reenter the labor force. For those going back to school, being a nontraditional student can be both challenging and rewarding. In addition to concerns about fitting in with predominantly younger student peers, many educational institutions are not organized to accommodate the schedules of older students. Older students are more likely to experience role conflicts or strains associated with juggling both educational and family responsibilities. More positively, however, other research points to the psychological benefits of holding multiple productive roles.

When children are economically independent enough to move out of the parental home, parents may transition into what is commonly called the empty nest phase. Far from a crisis, research has actually found that parents are happiest during this empty nest stage. For many, however, this empty nest phase is increasingly delayed or interrupted, as adult children may delay leaving home in order to pursue higher education, save up to buy their own house, or move back home following divorce or other unexpected life events. Within disadvantaged communities, and particularly in the case of single mother families, it is quite common to have multiple-generation households in which grandparents move in to provide social and economic support. The many productive roles that grandparents play within multiple generation households are receiving increased attention within both the research and policymaking communities. An adult’s parents may also move into the household due to their own deteriorating health or for economic well-being. If the children are not yet out of the house, this situation is described as a “sandwich,” in which adults are doubly burdened by caring for children and their dependent parents. Research into the effects of such multigenerational caregiving on depression suggests that the burden is higher for women, however, other research finds that having multiple productive roles confers positive psychological benefits as well.

Just as careers are becoming more varied, so too is the transition to retirement. Rather than a single transition point, retirement is better conceived of as an ongoing process. Work retirement may be gradual or intermittent, with transitions from full-time to part-time work, from private sector to self-employment, or the starting of second or third careers. For some, the transition begins many years prior to actually leaving the job, with the initiation of financial and lifestyle planning for retirement. The degree of planning for retirement, however, varies considerably by social class and other statuses. Those with unstable work histories, those at risk for job loss, and those with declining health are not able to plan for and retire on their own terms. As is true of work transitions in general, retirement is a transition that often affects more than one person. An individual’s retirement decision making is thus influenced by the career and health transitions of spouses or partners and perhaps other family members.

Due to increases in longevity, researchers are increasingly interested in factors associated with successful aging. Though definitions of successful aging (or aging well) vary considerably, most entail the absence of physical disabilities and a sense of life satisfaction. Much like the concept of resilience, being adaptive in the face of change and continued social engagement, including volunteering activities and participation in other productive roles, has been found to be associated with effective maintenance of psychological and physical health.

As life expectancies continue to rise, transitions to caregiving roles increase in both likelihood and duration. Interventions that provide information and respite to caregivers of persons with dementia or other Alzheimer’s-related symptoms are receiving increased research attention. The transition to widowhood and its duration is also of increasing importance, particularly for women who have considerably longer life expectancies than do men. Though widowhood often triggers distress and poorer physical health, these associations may be buffered by social support from family, friends, and social networks, positive health habits, and the widows’ continued participation in informal community activities.

Finally, researchers have begun to analyze the transition to death, and conceptualize positive transitions in terms of dying well. This is usually defined in terms of minimizing unnecessary pain and psychological distress, facilitating contact between the individual and his or her most significant others, as well as satisfaction of surviving family members with the experience. The quality of physicians’ care of patients, and patient and family members’ efficacy and control over decision making, are contributing factors to a relatively positive experience. In the case of sudden deaths, however, many of these ideal factors may not be possible, and thus concern focuses on the psychological adjustment of survivors.

References:

• Aneshensel, C. S., & Phelan, J. C. (Eds.). (2006). Handbook of the sociology of mental health. New York: Springer.
• Elder, G. H., Jr. (1974). Children of the Great Depression: Social change in life experience. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
• Goodman, J., Schlossberg, N. K., & Anderson, M. L. (2006). Counseling adults in transition: Linking practice with theory (3rd ed.). New York: Springer.
• Moen, P. (Ed.). (2003). It’s about time: Couples and careers. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press.
• Mortimer, J., & Shanahan, M. (Eds.). (2003). Handbook of the life course. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum.
• Pillemer, K., Moen, P., Wethington, E., & Glasgow, N. (Eds.). (2000). Social integration in the second half of life. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.
• Counseling Psychology
• Personality Development

• Search Menu
• Browse content in Arts and Humanities
• Browse content in Archaeology
• Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
• Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
• Archaeology by Region
• Archaeology of Religion
• Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
• Biblical Archaeology
• Contemporary and Public Archaeology
• Environmental Archaeology
• Historical Archaeology
• History and Theory of Archaeology
• Industrial Archaeology
• Landscape Archaeology
• Mortuary Archaeology
• Prehistoric Archaeology
• Underwater Archaeology
• Urban Archaeology
• Zooarchaeology
• Browse content in Architecture
• Architectural Structure and Design
• History of Architecture
• Residential and Domestic Buildings
• Theory of Architecture
• Browse content in Art
• Art Subjects and Themes
• History of Art
• Industrial and Commercial Art
• Theory of Art
• Biographical Studies
• Byzantine Studies
• Browse content in Classical Studies
• Classical History
• Classical Philosophy
• Classical Mythology
• Classical Literature
• Classical Reception
• Classical Art and Architecture
• Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
• Greek and Roman Papyrology
• Greek and Roman Epigraphy
• Greek and Roman Law
• Greek and Roman Archaeology
• Late Antiquity
• Religion in the Ancient World
• Digital Humanities
• Browse content in History
• Colonialism and Imperialism
• Diplomatic History
• Environmental History
• Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
• Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
• Historical Geography
• History by Period
• History of Emotions
• History of Agriculture
• History of Education
• History of Gender and Sexuality
• Industrial History
• Intellectual History
• International History
• Labour History
• Legal and Constitutional History
• Local and Family History
• Maritime History
• Military History
• National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
• Oral History
• Political History
• Public History
• Regional and National History
• Revolutions and Rebellions
• Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
• Social and Cultural History
• Theory, Methods, and Historiography
• Urban History
• World History
• Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
• Language Learning (Specific Skills)
• Language Teaching Theory and Methods
• Browse content in Linguistics
• Applied Linguistics
• Cognitive Linguistics
• Computational Linguistics
• Forensic Linguistics
• Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
• Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
• History of English
• Language Evolution
• Language Reference
• Language Acquisition
• Language Variation
• Language Families
• Lexicography
• Linguistic Anthropology
• Linguistic Theories
• Linguistic Typology
• Phonetics and Phonology
• Psycholinguistics
• Sociolinguistics
• Translation and Interpretation
• Writing Systems
• Browse content in Literature
• Bibliography
• Children's Literature Studies
• Literary Studies (Romanticism)
• Literary Studies (American)
• Literary Studies (Asian)
• Literary Studies (European)
• Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
• Literary Studies (Modernism)
• Literary Studies - World
• Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
• Literary Studies (19th Century)
• Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
• Literary Studies (African American Literature)
• Literary Studies (British and Irish)
• Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
• Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
• Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
• Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
• Literary Studies (History of the Book)
• Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
• Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
• Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
• Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
• Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
• Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
• Literary Studies (War Literature)
• Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
• Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
• Mythology and Folklore
• Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
• Browse content in Media Studies
• Browse content in Music
• Applied Music
• Dance and Music
• Ethics in Music
• Ethnomusicology
• Gender and Sexuality in Music
• Medicine and Music
• Music Cultures
• Music and Media
• Music and Religion
• Music and Culture
• Music Education and Pedagogy
• Music Theory and Analysis
• Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
• Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
• Musicology and Music History
• Performance Practice and Studies
• Race and Ethnicity in Music
• Sound Studies
• Browse content in Performing Arts
• Browse content in Philosophy
• Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
• Epistemology
• Feminist Philosophy
• History of Western Philosophy
• Metaphysics
• Moral Philosophy
• Non-Western Philosophy
• Philosophy of Language
• Philosophy of Mind
• Philosophy of Perception
• Philosophy of Science
• Philosophy of Action
• Philosophy of Law
• Philosophy of Religion
• Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
• Practical Ethics
• Social and Political Philosophy
• Browse content in Religion
• Biblical Studies
• Christianity
• East Asian Religions
• History of Religion
• Judaism and Jewish Studies
• Qumran Studies
• Religion and Education
• Religion and Health
• Religion and Politics
• Religion and Science
• Religion and Law
• Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
• Religious Studies
• Browse content in Society and Culture
• Cookery, Food, and Drink
• Cultural Studies
• Customs and Traditions
• Ethical Issues and Debates
• Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
• Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
• Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
• Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
• Sports and Outdoor Recreation
• Technology and Society
• Travel and Holiday
• Visual Culture
• Browse content in Law
• Arbitration
• Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
• Commercial Law
• Company Law
• Browse content in Comparative Law
• Systems of Law
• Competition Law
• Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
• Government Powers
• Judicial Review
• Local Government Law
• Military and Defence Law
• Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
• Construction Law
• Contract Law
• Browse content in Criminal Law
• Criminal Procedure
• Criminal Evidence Law
• Sentencing and Punishment
• Employment and Labour Law
• Environment and Energy Law
• Browse content in Financial Law
• Banking Law
• Insolvency Law
• History of Law
• Human Rights and Immigration
• Intellectual Property Law
• Browse content in International Law
• Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
• Public International Law
• IT and Communications Law
• Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
• Law and Politics
• Law and Society
• Browse content in Legal System and Practice
• Courts and Procedure
• Legal Skills and Practice
• Primary Sources of Law
• Regulation of Legal Profession
• Medical and Healthcare Law
• Browse content in Policing
• Criminal Investigation and Detection
• Police and Security Services
• Police Procedure and Law
• Police Regional Planning
• Browse content in Property Law
• Personal Property Law
• Study and Revision
• Terrorism and National Security Law
• Browse content in Trusts Law
• Wills and Probate or Succession
• Browse content in Medicine and Health
• Browse content in Allied Health Professions
• Arts Therapies
• Clinical Science
• Dietetics and Nutrition
• Occupational Therapy
• Operating Department Practice
• Physiotherapy
• Radiography
• Speech and Language Therapy
• Browse content in Anaesthetics
• General Anaesthesia
• Neuroanaesthesia
• Clinical Neuroscience
• Browse content in Clinical Medicine
• Acute Medicine
• Cardiovascular Medicine
• Clinical Genetics
• Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
• Dermatology
• Endocrinology and Diabetes
• Gastroenterology
• Genito-urinary Medicine
• Geriatric Medicine
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Toxicology
• Medical Oncology
• Pain Medicine
• Palliative Medicine
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
• Rheumatology
• Sleep Medicine
• Sports and Exercise Medicine
• Community Medical Services
• Critical Care
• Emergency Medicine
• Forensic Medicine
• Haematology
• History of Medicine
• Browse content in Medical Skills
• Clinical Skills
• Communication Skills
• Nursing Skills
• Surgical Skills
• Browse content in Medical Dentistry
• Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
• Paediatric Dentistry
• Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
• Surgical Dentistry
• Medical Ethics
• Medical Statistics and Methodology
• Browse content in Neurology
• Clinical Neurophysiology
• Neuropathology
• Nursing Studies
• Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Gynaecology
• Occupational Medicine
• Ophthalmology
• Otolaryngology (ENT)
• Browse content in Paediatrics
• Neonatology
• Browse content in Pathology
• Chemical Pathology
• Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
• Histopathology
• Medical Microbiology and Virology
• Patient Education and Information
• Browse content in Pharmacology
• Psychopharmacology
• Browse content in Popular Health
• Caring for Others
• Complementary and Alternative Medicine
• Self-help and Personal Development
• Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
• Cell Biology
• Molecular Biology and Genetics
• Reproduction, Growth and Development
• Primary Care
• Professional Development in Medicine
• Browse content in Psychiatry
• Addiction Medicine
• Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
• Forensic Psychiatry
• Learning Disabilities
• Old Age Psychiatry
• Psychotherapy
• Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health
• Browse content in Radiology
• Clinical Radiology
• Interventional Radiology
• Nuclear Medicine
• Radiation Oncology
• Reproductive Medicine
• Browse content in Surgery
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
• General Surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Paediatric Surgery
• Peri-operative Care
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Transplant Surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
• Vascular Surgery
• Browse content in Science and Mathematics
• Browse content in Biological Sciences
• Aquatic Biology
• Biochemistry
• Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology and Conservation
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics and Genomics
• Microbiology
• Molecular and Cell Biology
• Natural History
• Plant Sciences and Forestry
• Research Methods in Life Sciences
• Structural Biology
• Systems Biology
• Zoology and Animal Sciences
• Browse content in Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Computational Chemistry
• Crystallography
• Environmental Chemistry
• Industrial Chemistry
• Inorganic Chemistry
• Materials Chemistry
• Medicinal Chemistry
• Mineralogy and Gems
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Browse content in Computer Science
• Artificial Intelligence
• Computer Architecture and Logic Design
• Game Studies
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Mathematical Theory of Computation
• Programming Languages
• Software Engineering
• Systems Analysis and Design
• Virtual Reality
• Browse content in Computing
• Business Applications
• Computer Security
• Computer Games
• Computer Networking and Communications
• Digital Lifestyle
• Graphical and Digital Media Applications
• Operating Systems
• Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Environmental Geography
• Geology and the Lithosphere
• Maps and Map-making
• Meteorology and Climatology
• Oceanography and Hydrology
• Palaeontology
• Physical Geography and Topography
• Regional Geography
• Soil Science
• Urban Geography
• Browse content in Engineering and Technology
• Agriculture and Farming
• Biological Engineering
• Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
• Electronics and Communications Engineering
• Energy Technology
• Engineering (General)
• Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
• History of Engineering and Technology
• Mechanical Engineering and Materials
• Technology of Industrial Chemistry
• Transport Technology and Trades
• Browse content in Environmental Science
• Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
• Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Environmental Sustainability
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
• Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
• Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
• Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
• History of Science and Technology
• Browse content in Materials Science
• Ceramics and Glasses
• Composite Materials
• Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
• Nanotechnology
• Browse content in Mathematics
• Applied Mathematics
• Biomathematics and Statistics
• History of Mathematics
• Mathematical Education
• Mathematical Finance
• Mathematical Analysis
• Numerical and Computational Mathematics
• Probability and Statistics
• Pure Mathematics
• Browse content in Neuroscience
• Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
• Development of the Nervous System
• Disorders of the Nervous System
• History of Neuroscience
• Invertebrate Neurobiology
• Molecular and Cellular Systems
• Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
• Neuroscientific Techniques
• Sensory and Motor Systems
• Browse content in Physics
• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
• Biological and Medical Physics
• Classical Mechanics
• Computational Physics
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
• History of Physics
• Mathematical and Statistical Physics
• Measurement Science
• Nuclear Physics
• Particles and Fields
• Plasma Physics
• Quantum Physics
• Relativity and Gravitation
• Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
• Browse content in Psychology
• Affective Sciences
• Clinical Psychology
• Cognitive Psychology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Criminal and Forensic Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Educational Psychology
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Health Psychology
• History and Systems in Psychology
• Music Psychology
• Neuropsychology
• Organizational Psychology
• Psychological Assessment and Testing
• Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
• Psychology Professional Development and Training
• Research Methods in Psychology
• Social Psychology
• Browse content in Social Sciences
• Browse content in Anthropology
• Anthropology of Religion
• Human Evolution
• Medical Anthropology
• Physical Anthropology
• Regional Anthropology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• Theory and Practice of Anthropology
• Browse content in Business and Management
• Business Ethics
• Business Strategy
• Business History
• Business and Technology
• Business and Government
• Business and the Environment
• Comparative Management
• Corporate Governance
• Corporate Social Responsibility
• Entrepreneurship
• Health Management
• Human Resource Management
• Industrial and Employment Relations
• Industry Studies
• Information and Communication Technologies
• International Business
• Knowledge Management
• Management and Management Techniques
• Operations Management
• Organizational Theory and Behaviour
• Pensions and Pension Management
• Public and Nonprofit Management
• Strategic Management
• Supply Chain Management
• Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
• Criminal Justice
• Criminology
• Forms of Crime
• International and Comparative Criminology
• Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
• Development Studies
• Browse content in Economics
• Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
• Asian Economics
• Behavioural Finance
• Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
• Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
• Economic History
• Economic Systems
• Economic Methodology
• Economic Development and Growth
• Financial Markets
• Financial Institutions and Services
• General Economics and Teaching
• Health, Education, and Welfare
• History of Economic Thought
• International Economics
• Labour and Demographic Economics
• Law and Economics
• Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
• Microeconomics
• Public Economics
• Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
• Welfare Economics
• Browse content in Education
• Adult Education and Continuous Learning
• Care and Counselling of Students
• Early Childhood and Elementary Education
• Educational Equipment and Technology
• Educational Strategies and Policy
• Higher and Further Education
• Organization and Management of Education
• Philosophy and Theory of Education
• Schools Studies
• Secondary Education
• Teaching of a Specific Subject
• Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
• Teaching Skills and Techniques
• Browse content in Environment
• Applied Ecology (Social Science)
• Climate Change
• Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
• Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
• Natural Disasters (Environment)
• Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
• Browse content in Human Geography
• Cultural Geography
• Economic Geography
• Political Geography
• Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
• Communication Studies
• Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
• Browse content in Politics
• African Politics
• Asian Politics
• Chinese Politics
• Comparative Politics
• Conflict Politics
• Elections and Electoral Studies
• Environmental Politics
• European Union
• Foreign Policy
• Gender and Politics
• Human Rights and Politics
• Indian Politics
• International Relations
• International Organization (Politics)
• International Political Economy
• Irish Politics
• Latin American Politics
• Middle Eastern Politics
• Political Behaviour
• Political Economy
• Political Institutions
• Political Methodology
• Political Communication
• Political Philosophy
• Political Sociology
• Political Theory
• Politics and Law
• Public Policy
• Public Administration
• Quantitative Political Methodology
• Regional Political Studies
• Russian Politics
• Security Studies
• State and Local Government
• UK Politics
• US Politics
• Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
• African Studies
• Asian Studies
• East Asian Studies
• Japanese Studies
• Latin American Studies
• Middle Eastern Studies
• Native American Studies
• Scottish Studies
• Browse content in Research and Information
• Research Methods
• Browse content in Social Work
• Addictions and Substance Misuse
• Adoption and Fostering
• Care of the Elderly
• Child and Adolescent Social Work
• Couple and Family Social Work
• Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
• Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
• Emergency Services
• Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
• International and Global Issues in Social Work
• Mental and Behavioural Health
• Social Justice and Human Rights
• Social Policy and Advocacy
• Social Work and Crime and Justice
• Social Work Macro Practice
• Social Work Practice Settings
• Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
• Welfare and Benefit Systems
• Browse content in Sociology
• Childhood Studies
• Community Development
• Comparative and Historical Sociology
• Economic Sociology
• Gender and Sexuality
• Gerontology and Ageing
• Health, Illness, and Medicine
• Marriage and the Family
• Migration Studies
• Occupations, Professions, and Work
• Organizations
• Population and Demography
• Race and Ethnicity
• Social Theory
• Social Movements and Social Change
• Social Research and Statistics
• Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
• Sociology of Religion
• Sociology of Education
• Sport and Leisure
• Urban and Rural Studies
• Browse content in Warfare and Defence
• Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
• Land Forces and Warfare
• Military Administration
• Military Life and Institutions
• Naval Forces and Warfare
• Other Warfare and Defence Issues
• Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
• Weapons and Equipment

• < Previous chapter
• Next chapter >

Emerging Adult Essay: Life Moving Forward: A Personal Perspective on Transitioning Into Adulthood

• Published: May 2017
• Cite Icon Cite
• Permissions Icon Permissions

Throughout life, transitions can create some of the most daunting experiences anyone will encounter. Leaving school, finding a job, moving out on your own, finding someone to share your life with—these all constitute life transitions and events that force everyone to look outside of their comfort zone to formulate a solution. Everyone dreads the change, but we all must face it head-on and accept the challenge of something different. For people with disabilities these changes may be overwhelming and, at times, debilitating. The key to success while transitioning is having attained the proper skill set to help overcome whatever transitional barrier(s) your particular disability mandates.

I am a 25-year-old male who was born and raised in Virginia. I am someone who, I hope and believe, has successfully transitioned to adulthood, though not without both ups and downs. Because I was born with cerebral palsy (CP), I use a power wheelchair to help me get around and accomplish daily tasks. I graduated from college in the fall of 2013. There I created my own disability advocacy degree under the interdisciplinary studies major titled “Advocacy for Social Justice.” I also majored in sociology and have a minor in psychology. Some of my hobbies include hanging out with friends and family, watching sports of all kinds, and working with individuals with disabilities. Until recently, when I opened my consulting business, I never held a full-time job, having only interned at all of my employment experiences. These internships include two federal and one state government entity and a disability resource center. Additionally, I have worked on a congressional campaign. I hope my experiences help to motivate you, whether you’re a student or a teacher reading this essay, to take control of your transition process or to help someone effectively transition to adulthood.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

• GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]
• Google Scholar Indexing

Personal account

• Sign in with email/username & password
• Get email alerts
• Save searches
• Purchase content
• Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

• Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
• Institutional account management
• Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

• Click Sign in through your institution.
• Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
• When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
• Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

• Click Sign in through society site.
• When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

• View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
• View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

• About Oxford Academic
• Publish journals with us
• University press partners
• What we publish
• New features  
• Open access
• Rights and permissions
• Accessibility
• Advertising
• Media enquiries
• Oxford University Press
• Oxford Languages
• University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

• Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
• Cookie settings
• Cookie policy
• Privacy policy
• Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Navigating Life Transitions: A Guide for Growth & Adaptation

Introduction:.

Life is a journey of continuous change, and Navigating Life Transitions is an essential skill for personal growth and well-being. Whether it’s career shifts, relationship changes, or relocating to a new place, transitions are inevitable. Understanding how to adapt to these changes is crucial for maintaining resilience and optimism. This article explores the nature of life transitions, highlighting the importance of embracing these periods of change as opportunities for development and self-discovery.

Identifying Major Life Transitions

Life transitions are significant changes that can alter our daily routines, relationships, self-identity, or perspectives. Recognizing these transitions is the first step in effectively Navigating Life Transitions. Here, we explore various types of major life changes and their potential impact.

Types of Life Transitions:

• Career Changes: This can include starting a new job, career shifts, promotions, or retirement. Each stage brings its own set of challenges and opportunities for growth.
• Relationship Changes: Significant shifts in personal relationships, such as marriage, divorce, or the loss of a loved one, deeply affect our emotional landscape and require adaptation.
• Relocation: Moving to a new city, state, or country presents a change in environment and community, often necessitating a period of adjustment.
• Health-Related Changes: Experiencing illness or injury, whether personally or within one’s family, can significantly alter daily life and perspectives on well-being.
• Life Stage Transitions: These include developmental stages such as transitioning from adolescence to adulthood, becoming a parent, or entering later stages of life.

Acknowledging Their Impact: Understanding that these transitions are more than just external changes, they also involve internal adjustments. They can influence one’s sense of identity, values, and priorities. Accepting the significance of these transitions is crucial in developing strategies to navigate them effectively.

Identifying these life transitions helps in preparing for and managing their impact. It’s a critical step in the journey of personal growth and adaptation during times of change.

Emotional Responses to Life Transitions

Emotional reactions to life transitions can vary widely, encompassing a range of feelings from excitement and joy to anxiety and grief. Understanding these emotional responses is a vital aspect of Navigating Life Transitions effectively.

Common Emotional Reactions:

• Stress and Anxiety: Changes, even positive ones, can create uncertainty, leading to stress or anxiety. This is a natural response to the unknown aspects of a new situation.
• Excitement and Hope: Transitions can also bring feelings of excitement and optimism about new opportunities and experiences.
• Sadness and Grief: Leaving behind familiar situations, people, or places often results in feelings of loss and grief.
• Overwhelm: The challenges of adjusting to new circumstances can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially when multiple changes occur simultaneously.

Healthy Coping Mechanisms:

• Acknowledging Feelings: Allow yourself to experience and acknowledge your emotions without judgment. This acceptance is crucial for emotional processing.
• Seeking Support: Sharing your feelings with friends, family, or professionals can provide comfort and perspective.
• Engaging in Self-Care: Prioritizing self-care activities can help manage stress and maintain emotional balance.
• Staying Connected: Maintaining connections with loved ones can provide a sense of stability during times of change.

Understanding and managing emotional responses to life transitions is essential for maintaining mental and emotional well-being. Recognizing these emotions as natural and valid is a key part of the journey in Navigating Life Transitions.

Strategies for Adapting to Change

Effectively navigating life transitions involves developing strategies to adapt to change. Embracing flexibility and cultivating resilience are essential for turning challenges into opportunities for growth. Here are practical methods for adapting to life’s transitions.

• Building Resilience: Resilience is the ability to bounce back from challenges. Strengthening resilience involves maintaining a positive outlook, setting realistic expectations, and being open to learning from experiences.
• Staying Flexible: Flexibility in your thoughts and actions allows for easier adaptation to new circumstances. It involves letting go of rigid expectations and being open to different outcomes and opportunities.
• Maintaining a Positive Outlook: A positive mindset can significantly impact your ability to handle change. Focus on potential opportunities rather than solely on the losses or challenges.
• Setting Realistic Goals: Break down larger transitions into manageable goals. Achieving these smaller goals can provide a sense of accomplishment and progress.
• Practicing Mindfulness: Mindfulness helps in staying grounded and present during times of change. It aids in managing stress and maintaining emotional balance.
• Seeking Information and Preparation: Understanding what to expect and preparing accordingly can reduce anxiety associated with change. Research, ask questions, and gather information to feel more in control.

Adapting to change is a critical skill in Navigating Life Transitions. These strategies can empower you to handle transitions more effectively, fostering personal growth and development in the process.

Personal Growth Through Transitions

Life transitions, while often challenging, present unique opportunities for personal growth and development. Navigating Life Transitions successfully can lead to significant self-discovery and enhancement of one’s capabilities and understanding.

• Learning from Change: Every transition brings lessons. Whether it’s developing new skills, gaining different perspectives, or understanding personal strengths and limitations, transitions offer invaluable learning experiences.
• Developing Adaptability: As you navigate through various transitions, you naturally become more adaptable. This adaptability is a key life skill, enhancing your ability to manage future changes more effectively.
• Increased Self-Awareness: Transitions often force us to reevaluate our priorities and values. This introspection can lead to a deeper understanding of ourselves, our needs, and our desires.
• Discovering New Interests and Passions: Changes can open doors to new interests and passions. Whether it’s a new career path or a hobby, transitions can spark exploration into areas previously unconsidered.
• Building Emotional Intelligence: Successfully managing the emotional aspects of transitions can enhance emotional intelligence, including self-regulation, empathy, and resilience.
• Strengthening Relationships: Navigating through difficult transitions can strengthen relationships with those who offer support, while also encouraging the formation of new connections.

Embracing the personal growth aspects of life transitions can transform them from periods of uncertainty to opportunities for significant development. Recognizing and leveraging these opportunities is a crucial part of Navigating Life Transitions.

Seeking Support During Transitions

Effective navigation through life transitions often involves seeking support from various sources. Having a strong support system can provide emotional sustenance, practical advice, and a sense of stability during times of change. This aspect is an integral part of successfully Navigating Life Transitions.

• Leveraging Personal Networks: Friends and family can offer emotional support, encouragement, and a listening ear. Don’t hesitate to share your experiences and feelings with them; often, just talking about your challenges can provide relief and clarity.
• Professional Guidance: Seeking help from counselors, therapists, or life coaches can be beneficial, especially for significant life changes. These professionals can offer tailored advice, coping strategies, and unbiased perspectives to help you navigate through transitions.
• Joining Support Groups: Participating in groups with individuals going through similar experiences can be comforting and informative. These groups provide a platform for sharing strategies, offering mutual support, and feeling understood and validated.
• Community Resources: Many communities offer resources for specific types of transitions, such as career centers, bereavement groups, or new parent programs. These resources can provide valuable information and support networks.
• Online Forums and Platforms: Online communities and forums can also be a source of support, especially when face-to-face options are limited. These platforms allow you to connect with others across the globe who are experiencing similar transitions.

Seeking and accepting support is a vital element in Navigating Life Transitions. It reinforces the understanding that you don’t have to face change alone and that there are resources and people who can assist in making the process smoother and more manageable.

Conclusion:

Navigating Life Transitions is an integral part of our journey. While these changes can be daunting, they also bring opportunities for growth, learning, and self-discovery. Embracing the strategies outlined, from acknowledging the impact of transitions to seeking support, can significantly ease the process. Remember, each transition is a stepping stone to a more resilient, adaptable, and self-aware version of yourself. With resilience, optimism, and the right tools, you can turn these periods of change into milestones of personal development and success.

Ready to Dive Deeper?

Our expertly crafted eBooks and workbooks are just a click away. Enhance your journey today!

Join the Bloom & Bound Community

Related posts.

Social Media Detox for Women: A Guide to Digital Well-being

The Nine Stages of Ego Development

Signs of Self-Awareness Wakeup Call: 10 Key Indicators

From Old to New: Making the Most of Life’s Transitions

2013 could easily be known as the Year of Change for me. I got married, became a step-mom, moved to a new town, attended a new church, lost a parent, and began working from home. In other words, transition marked every area of my life.

Our family also experienced all of the normal changes that happen in a year. Each new season brought new activities as others ended. School ended; school began. We planned vacations; we prepared for Christmas. Baseball, basketball, soccer, choir, youth group: each began and ended in its time.

And as we moved from one activity, from one event, from one life-altering moment to the next, it wasn’t just the change itself that was significant, but what the change was accomplishing in us, how we transitioned from old to new.

“Change is the stuff of life. But transitioning well is the art of life,” writes Karen Swallow Prior in her essay for The High Calling called, “ In Life as in Writing: Transitions Bring Cohesion to the Whole .”

Prior’s essay is just one of a collection exploring this theme of transitioning from old to new, a timely topic as we turn the pages of our calendars and anticipate what’s next.

Some changes are ones we seek, like moving to a new town or taking on a new job. The most important element to making a successful transition is connecting the old and new together, Prior says: “The key is putting what has already transpired into proper relationship with the new demands as part of a coherent whole.”

Other changes are ones we make. In an interview with pastor, author, business leader, humanitarian, and filmmaker T.D. Jakes, Nancy Lovell explores his life and work, his recent book, and the idea of pushing for transitions the world needs, the ones only we can make.

“What motivated me to write [ Instinct ],” Jakes says in “ Blurring the Lines: Talking Life and Work with T.D. Jakes , “is that while I reference my own life, I’ve been privileged to be around people who shattered ceilings and broke barriers. Regardless of background, or culture or ideology, they followed their instinct. They didn’t allow the rules to incarcerate them to what could be done.”

But how does a person of faith balance humility with the power needed to be so disruptive? Lovell asked.

“It’s possible to have the power to affect change and still be humble that you’re allowed to have it,” Jakes responded. “My illustration of power and humility cohabitating is Jesus Christ himself. You can’t find anyone with more influence and power than Christ and you find him at the feet of his disciples washing feet. He didn’t have to forsake one to produce the other, and neither do we.”

Finally, in Laura Brown’s essay, “ Unwanted Transitions: Finding Normal after Loss ,” we explore the painful process of accepting difficult change that no one would ever choose. “What I am noticing so far, in this grief that is still new, in this world without Dad,” she writes, “is the loss of what he knew. All the things about which there’s no one to ask.”

We aren’t the only ones thinking about change, either. Outside The High Calling, several other articles address this important idea of thriving in transition.

In the December 24, 2013, Bloomberg Business Week article “ Forget Resolutions: Make Real Changes for You and Your Career in 2014 ,” author Karen Cates says making real change begins with asking the right questions. “Instead of asking, ‘What do I want to be when I grow up?’ try this: ‘Who do I want to be? How do I want to feel when I wake up in the morning?’” she writes. “By shifting the focus onto being instead of getting, you multiply the potential paths you can take to get there.”

When it comes to implementing change that affects others, giving them as much control as possible within the transition will help them thrive. That’s the message of the December 1, 2013, article in the The Washington Post called, “ How to Create Change in the Workplace ” by Joyce E.A. Russell.

“Employees may actually be positive to a change, but if the change is imposed on them, their reaction is often more obstinate,” she writes. “Leaders have to help employees feel a sense of ownership in the change process and outcomes.”

For young professionals attempting to thrive in the transition from school to the workplace, Justin Louie’s June 10, 2013, article on TalentEgg.ca offers some great advice. “The absolute worst thing you can do after graduation is nothing,” he writes in “ 3 Steps to Transition From School To The Workplace .”

Not graduating until Spring? “In order to increase your chances of having a job upon graduation, you should start looking for work at least four months before your graduation date, since it can sometimes take this long to find work and get through the application process,” Louis suggests.

Finally, Mark Roberts’ daily reflection, “ God Don't Never Change ” reminds us that through all the transitions we encounter, there is one certainty. His name is God. Subscribe today to receive the daily reflections in your inbox each day, including Saturday’s wrap-up to our theme. And to read more from our High Calling community about what it means to thrive in transition, visit us on Friday, January 10, 2014, for a summary of the best in community posts.

Charity Singleton Craig is a content editor for The High Calling and a contributing writer for Tweetspeak Poetry. She grew up on an Indiana farm and now lives with her husband and step-sons across the street from another Hoosier corn field.

Image by Jordan Richmond . Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr .

Popular Content

Calling & Vocation (Overview)

Explore what the Bible says about God's calling and your work.

God’s Purposes for Your Work - Tom Lutz

We explore what the Bible has to say about the purpose of your work with guest Tom Lutz.

What Does the Bible Say About Wealth and Provision? (Overview)

The Bible offers guidance for a Christian view of wealth and how wealth can be used for God's redemptive purposes.

How to Make the Right Decision (Devotional)

Biblical decision-making principles for tough situations at work.

10 Key Points About Work in the Bible Every Christian Should Know

10 key points from the Bible give a foundation for Christians asking what the Bible says about our work.

Every resource on our site was made possible through the financial support of people like you. With your gift of any size, you’ll enable us to continue equipping Christians with high-quality biblically-based content.

Creation and New Creation examines the doctrine of creation alongside new creation.

• flexibility

Published by The High Calling, January 9, 2014.

Theology of Work Project Online Materials by The High Calling are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License .

You are free to share (to copy, distribute and transmit the work), and remix (to adapt the work), under the condition that you must give appropriate credit to The High Calling, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You should not suggest in any way that The High Calling or Theology of Work endorses you or your use of the work.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

How to Survive Life’s Transitions

Change is scary, but it also offers the possibility of awakening..

Posted September 24, 2018

Welcome to Found in Transition, a blog about finding value in moving on, letting go, getting lost, and taking chances. It’s about learning from change through every stage of life.

This topic has been on my mind for quite a while. Every phase in life has its challenging transition points: starting school, ending school, getting a job, leaving a job, becoming a parent, moving to a new home, illness, losing someone, finding someone, societal changes, technological changes, getting older. . .

Sometime around midlife , I stumbled upon a wonderful quote presented by the poet, speaker, and naturalist, David Whyte . In a workshop, he quotes a verse from Dante: “In the middle of the road of my life, I awoke in a dark wood where the true way was wholly lost.”

In midlife, I did feel lost. One career was over and a new one starting. Children had left home. Husband was traveling. I stood alone in my house with my dog and wondered which way to turn.

I kept thinking I should just feel my way forward—almost like the blind—moving towards what felt right and real, paying close attention to the things, ideas, and people that came into my life. Were they worth the energy, did they make me feel good or bad, inspired or defeated?

And this is where I began to understand that getting lost can be a good thing. It’s a scary thing, for sure. Confusion and doubt abound. But if you ultimately accept life’s transitions, if you stay open to your instincts and surroundings, you begin to find things, to see a new path.

I did end up moving, literally, to a home in an area that I had long admired. I took on a challenging job, learned more than I could have imagined about websites and workplaces, and ultimately left to get back to writing and family. The transitioning process never ends. The challenge is how to be at peace with those "middle of the road" transition times, stay open to the gifts change can offer, and emerge with a bit more wisdom on the other side.

I see others around me going through changes—nieces and nephews graduating from college and looking for jobs, and homes, and love. Friends who were forced into early retirement or who left voluntarily and now are looking for new ways to make money and use their talents. Friends and relatives who have moved, faced illnesses, become parents and grandparents.

In Found in Transition, I want to share my own experiences with change and discover how others handle transitions. What are they facing? What are they doing that works? What are they struggling with or what have they learned?

Not all changes are momentous. Some are just about learning new software to operate your TV, car, or computer. There’s a learning curve that’s often steep and often sucks. But changes big and small provide opportunities to grow or at least rev up your brain cells.

If change is inevitable, we might as well try to get something out of it.

I’ll end this introduction to Found in Transition with another bit of inspiration from David Whyte, who asks the metaphorical question: What do you do when you’re lost in the forest?

In reply, he quotes the poem Lost by David Wagoner:

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known. [. . . ]

Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.

Amy Fries is a writer and editor. She is the author of Daydreams at Work: Wake Up Your Creative Powers .

• Find a Therapist
• Find a Treatment Center
• Find a Support Group
• International
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Asperger's
• Bipolar Disorder
• Chronic Pain
• Eating Disorders
• Passive Aggression
• Personality
• Goal Setting
• Positive Psychology
• Stopping Smoking
• Low Sexual Desire
• Relationships
• Child Development
• Therapy Center NEW
• Diagnosis Dictionary
• Types of Therapy

Understanding what emotional intelligence looks like and the steps needed to improve it could light a path to a more emotionally adept world.

• Coronavirus Disease 2019
• Affective Forecasting
• Neuroscience

6 Reflection Prompts for Navigating a Life Transition

Have you recently experienced a change in a job, long-term relationship or retirement? Or are you currently in the middle of a transition and wondering how to embrace your next chapter? Try these six journal prompts to explore your feelings and opinions on your life before the change. By reflecting on your use of character strengths in the past, you gain perspective that can help you move forward.

Learn How Mindful Strengths Use Can Boost Resilience

When you integrate strengths and mindfulness, you can actively bring forth the best parts of you to handle stress and challenges. Understand your top strengths—and how to use them to create more meaningful experiences and greater life satisfaction—with the Mindfulness and Strengths in Daily Life Course. Get started today with on-demand videos!

Some experts argue that focusing on individual actions to combat climate change takes the focus away from the collective action required to keep carbon levels from rising. Change will not be effected, say some others, unless individual actions raise the necessary awareness.

While a reader can see the connection between the sentences above, it’s not immediately clear that the second sentence is providing a counterargument to the first. In the example below, key “old information” is repeated in the second sentence to help readers quickly see the connection. This makes the sequence of ideas easier to follow.  

Sentence pair #2: Effective Transition

Some experts argue that focusing on individual actions to combat climate change takes the focus away from the collective action required to keep carbon levels from rising. Other experts argue that individual actions are key to raising the awareness necessary to effect change.

You can use this same technique to create clear transitions between paragraphs. Here’s an example:

Some experts argue that focusing on individual actions to combat climate change takes the focus away from the collective action required to keep carbon levels from rising. Other experts argue that individual actions are key to raising the awareness necessary to effect change. According to Annie Lowery, individual actions are important to making social change because when individuals take action, they can change values, which can lead to more people becoming invested in fighting climate change. She writes, “Researchers believe that these kinds of household-led trends can help avert climate catastrophe, even if government and corporate actions are far more important” (Lowery).

So, what’s an individual household supposed to do?

The repetition of the word “household” in the new paragraph helps readers see the connection between what has come before (a discussion of whether household actions matter) and what is about to come (a proposal for what types of actions households can take to combat climate change).

Sometimes, transitional words can help readers see how ideas are connected. But it’s not enough to just include a “therefore,” “moreover,” “also,” or “in addition.” You should choose these words carefully to show your readers what kind of connection you are making between your ideas.

To decide which transitional word to use, start by identifying the relationship between your ideas. For example, you might be

• making a comparison or showing a contrast Transitional words that compare and contrast include also, in the same way, similarly, in contrast, yet, on the one hand, on the other hand. But before you signal comparison, ask these questions: Do your readers need another example of the same thing? Is there a new nuance in this next point that distinguishes it from the previous example? For those relationships between ideas, you might try this type of transition: While x may appear the same, it actually raises a new question in a slightly different way. 
• expressing agreement or disagreement When you are making an argument, you need to signal to readers where you stand in relation to other scholars and critics. You may agree with another person’s claim, you may want to concede some part of the argument even if you don’t agree with everything, or you may disagree. Transitional words that signal agreement, concession, and disagreement include however, nevertheless, actually, still, despite, admittedly, still, on the contrary, nonetheless .
• showing cause and effect Transitional phrases that show cause and effect include therefore, hence, consequently, thus, so. Before you choose one of these words, make sure that what you are about to illustrate is really a causal link. Novice writers tend to add therefore and hence when they aren’t sure how to transition; you should reserve these words for when they accurately signal the progression of your ideas.
• explaining or elaborating Transitions can signal to readers that you are going to expand on a point that you have just made or explain something further. Transitional words that signal explanation or elaboration include in other words, for example, for instance, in particular, that is, to illustrate, moreover .
• drawing conclusions You can use transitions to signal to readers that you are moving from the body of your argument to your conclusions. Before you use transitional words to signal conclusions, consider whether you can write a stronger conclusion by creating a transition that shows the relationship between your ideas rather than by flagging the paragraph simply as a conclusion. Transitional words that signal a conclusion include in conclusion , as a result, ultimately, overall— but strong conclusions do not necessarily have to include those phrases.

If you’re not sure which transitional words to use—or whether to use one at all—see if you can explain the connection between your paragraphs or sentence either out loud or in the margins of your draft.

For example, if you write a paragraph in which you summarize physician Atul Gawande’s argument about the value of incremental care, and then you move on to a paragraph that challenges those ideas, you might write down something like this next to the first paragraph: “In this paragraph I summarize Gawande’s main claim.” Then, next to the second paragraph, you might write, “In this paragraph I present a challenge to Gawande’s main claim.” Now that you have identified the relationship between those two paragraphs, you can choose the most effective transition between them. Since the second paragraph in this example challenges the ideas in the first, you might begin with something like “but,” or “however,” to signal that shift for your readers.  

• picture_as_pdf Transitions

Effects of Life Transitions on Older Adults

• More Information |

Late life is commonly a period of transitions (eg, retirement, relocation) and adjustment to losses.

Retirement is often the first major transition faced by older adults. Its effects on physical and mental health differ from person to person, depending on attitude toward and reason for retiring. About one third of retirees have difficulty adjusting to certain aspects of retirement, such as reduced income and altered social role and entitlements. Some people choose to retire, having looked forward to quitting work; others are forced to retire (eg, because of health problems or job loss). Appropriate preparation for retirement and counseling for retirees and families who experience difficulties may help.

Relocation may occur several times during old age—eg, to retirement housing with desirable amenities, to smaller quarters to reduce the burden of upkeep, to the homes of siblings or adult children, or to a residential care facility. Physical and mental status are significant predictors of relocation adjustment, as is thoughtful and adequate preparation. People who respond poorly to relocation are more likely to live alone after their move and/or to be socially isolated, poor, and/or depressed. Men respond less well than women.

The less control people perceive they have over the move and the less predictable the new environment seems, the greater the stress of relocation. People should become acquainted with the new setting well in advance. For the cognitively impaired, a move away from familiar surroundings may exacerbate functional dependence and disruptive behavior. Because of financial, social, and other complications, some older adults feel they must remain in a problematic home or neighborhood despite their desire to relocate. Social workers can help such people assess their options for relocation or home modification.

Bereavement affects many aspects of an older person’s life. For example, social interaction and companionship decrease, and social status may change. The death of a spouse affects men and women differently. In the 2 years after death of a wife, the mortality rate in men tends to increase, especially if the wife’s death was unexpected. For women who lose a husband, data are less clear but generally do not indicate an increased mortality rate.

With bereavement, some sleep disturbance and anxiety are normal; these effects usually resolve in months without use of medications. In contrast, grief that is prolonged and overwhelming is considered pathologic grief. It is characterized by the following:

Symptoms that are typical of a major depressive episode and that last > 2 months

Strong and frequent feelings of yearning for the deceased and urges to join the deceased in death

Preoccupation with thoughts about the deceased or the circumstances or consequences of the death

Intense feelings of loneliness, shock, emptiness, numbness, unfairness, anger, or meaninglessness

Continuing to hear or see the deceased, or experiencing the pain that the deceased suffered

Avoiding or reacting intensely to reminders or memories of the deceased

Caregivers and health care professionals should look for such symptoms and be aware that bereaved patients are at high risk of suicide and declining health status. Worldwide in 2017, death by suicide was documented in about 16 per 100,000 people age 50 through 69 and in about 27 per 100,000 people age ≥70 worldwide, compared with about 11 per 100,000 people age 15 through 49 ( 1 ).

In the United States in 2020, the rate of suicide was about 4 times higher in older men than in older women ( 2 ). Rates of death by suicide for older adults are thought to be greatly underestimated because deaths secondary to opioid overdose are not investigated and intentional deaths due to voluntarily stopping eating and drinking are not documented ( 2 ). Older adults often do not give warnings about suicide and seldom seek mental health treatment. Physicians are less likely to offer treatment for depression to older patients than to younger patients. Although older adults attempt suicide less often than those in other age groups, they have a much higher rate of death by suicide because they are more likely to use firearms in the attempt (in 71.3% of suicide deaths among older adults [ 2 ]), have more health problems, be frail, and avoid interventions, and less likely to live with other people who might detect and respond to suicide attempts. Thus, the risk of death by suicide among older adults with suicidal ideation is very high.

Timely screening for depression and suicidal ideation is essential when working with older adults. Clinicians should ask directly about suicide (eg, “I know that you have been experiencing difficulties and that you spend quite a bit of time alone. I wonder if there are times you are thinking about suicide.”). Evidence of suicidal ideation should lead to immediate suicide safety planning. Before the end of an interaction with suicidal older adults, clinicians should do the following:

Enter the Suicide Prevention Lifeline or Crisis Text Line into their phone (1-800-273-8255 or text the word “Hello” to 741741) and show them how to find and use the information in their phone.

Discuss guns and other means of suicide that they have access to.

Show caring and sensitivity to the patient's situation (eg, "I know you have been through a lot. I care about you and want to see you again; your safety matters.")

Connect caregivers and family members to educational resources.

Develop a suicide safety plan that helps people recognize what leads to suicidal ideation and provides a list of coping strategies and support resources, including tablet and smartphone apps for patients to use.

Counseling and supportive services (eg, National Widowers Organization ) may facilitate difficult transitions. Short-term use of anxiolytic medications can help patients with excessive anxiety, and antidepressant therapies can reduce the intensity of depressive symptoms. However, excessive or prolonged use should be avoided because it may interfere with the process of grieving and adjustment. Prolonged, pathologic grief usually requires psychiatric evaluation and treatment.

1. De Leo D :  Late-life suicide in an aging world. Nat Aging 2:7–12, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00160-1

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) : Suicide Data and Statistics. Accessed 3/24/23.

More Information

The following English-language resources may be useful. Please note that THE MANUAL is not responsible for the content of this resource.

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) : Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit. This web site provides an easy-to-use, brief, direct, validated screening instrument that helps health care professionals assess a person's risk of suicide. This tool consists of 4 questions and takes 20 seconds to use. The NIMH provides guidance and scripts for health care professionals. Accessed 3/19/23.

The Columbia Lighthouse Project : The Columbia Protocol for Healthcare and Other Community Settings. This protocol (also known as the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale) is a free, evidence-based screening instrument with tailored guidance for different settings and free online training. It helps health care professionals determine whether a person is at risk of suicide, assess how severe and imminent the risk is, and estimate how much support that person needs. Accessed 3/19/23.

Suicide Is Different : This web site provides guidance, tool kits, and coaching to help family members and caregivers support a person with suicidal ideation and to remain well themselves. Accessed 3/19/23.

Zero Suicide : This web site provides resources and training tools to improve suicide care in health care systems. It discusses strategies that can help improve care; they include training for staff members, use of comprehensive screening and assessment tools, involving people at risk of suicide in their management plan, and using evidence-based treatments.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) : SAMHSA provides a mobile app that helps health care professionals identify and evaluate patients who are at risk of suicide. It provides information, assessment tools, and resources where patients can get support.

• Cookie Preferences

Copyright © 2024 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.

Transitional Words and Phrases

One of your primary goals as a writer is to present ideas in a clear and understandable way. To help readers move through your complex ideas, you want to be intentional about how you structure your paper as a whole as well as how you form the individual paragraphs that comprise it. In order to think through the challenges of presenting your ideas articulately, logically, and in ways that seem natural to your readers, check out some of these resources: Developing a Thesis Statement , Paragraphing , and Developing Strategic Transitions: Writing that Establishes Relationships and Connections Between Ideas.

While clear writing is mostly achieved through the deliberate sequencing of your ideas across your entire paper, you can guide readers through the connections you’re making by using transitional words in individual sentences. Transitional words and phrases can create powerful links between your ideas and can help your reader understand your paper’s logic.

In what follows, we’ve included a list of frequently used transitional words and phrases that can help you establish how your various ideas relate to each other. We’ve divided these words and phrases into categories based on the common kinds of relationships writers establish between ideas.

Two recommendations: Use these transitions strategically by making sure that the word or phrase you’re choosing matches the logic of the relationship you’re emphasizing or the connection you’re making. All of these words and phrases have different meanings, nuances, and connotations, so before using a particular transitional word in your paper, be sure you understand its meaning and usage completely, and be sure that it’s the right match for your paper’s logic. Use these transitional words and phrases sparingly because if you use too many of them, your readers might feel like you are overexplaining connections that are already clear.

Categories of Transition Words and Phrases

Causation Chronology Combinations Contrast Example

Importance Location Similarity Clarification Concession

Conclusion Intensification Purpose Summary

Transitions to help establish some of the most common kinds of relationships

Causation– Connecting instigator(s) to consequence(s).

accordingly as a result and so because

consequently for that reason hence on account of

since therefore thus

Chronology– Connecting what issues in regard to when they occur.

after afterwards always at length during earlier following immediately in the meantime

later never next now once simultaneously so far sometimes

soon subsequently then this time until now when whenever while

Combinations Lists– Connecting numerous events. Part/Whole– Connecting numerous elements that make up something bigger.

additionally again also and, or, not as a result besides even more

finally first, firstly further furthermore in addition in the first place in the second place

last, lastly moreover next second, secondly, etc. too

Contrast– Connecting two things by focusing on their differences.

after all although and yet at the same time but

despite however in contrast nevertheless nonetheless notwithstanding

on the contrary on the other hand otherwise though yet

Example– Connecting a general idea to a particular instance of this idea.

as an illustration e.g., (from a Latin abbreviation for “for example”)

for example for instance specifically that is

to demonstrate to illustrate

Importance– Connecting what is critical to what is more inconsequential.

chiefly critically

foundationally most importantly

of less importance primarily

Location– Connecting elements according to where they are placed in relationship to each other.

above adjacent to below beyond

centrally here nearby neighboring on

opposite to peripherally there wherever

Similarity– Connecting to things by suggesting that they are in some way alike.

by the same token in like manner

in similar fashion here in the same way

likewise wherever

Other kinds of transitional words and phrases Clarification

i.e., (from a Latin abbreviation for “that is”) in other words

that is that is to say to clarify to explain

to put it another way to rephrase it

granted it is true

naturally of course

finally lastly

in conclusion in the end

to conclude

Intensification

in fact indeed no

of course surely to repeat

undoubtedly without doubt yes

for this purpose in order that

so that to that end

to this end

in brief in sum

in summary in short

to sum up to summarize

Improving Your Writing Style

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Clear, Concise Sentences

Use the active voice

Put the action in the verb

Tidy up wordy phrases

Reduce wordy verbs

Reduce prepositional phrases

Reduce expletive constructions

Avoid using vague nouns

Avoid unneccessarily inflated words

Avoid noun strings

Connecting Ideas Through Transitions

Using Transitional Words and Phrases

• Skip to primary navigation
• Skip to main content
• Skip to primary sidebar

Richard B. Joelson, DSW

Psychotherapist, Author

Managing Difficult Life Transitions

by Richard B. Joelson, DSW .  Category:  Grief Recovery . 

Life transitions are challenging because they force us to let go of the familiar and face the future with a feeling of vulnerability. Most life transitions begin with a string of losses:

• The loss of a role
• The loss of a person
• The loss of a place
• The loss of your sense of where you fit in the world

Any significant loss makes most people feel fearful and anxious. Since your future may now be filled with questions, it is normal to feel afraid. We live in a culture that has taught us to be very uncomfortable with uncertainty, so we are anxious when our lives are disrupted. On the positive side, these transitions give us a chance to learn about our strengths and to explore what we really want out of life. This time of reflection can result in a sense of renewal, stability, and a new equilibrium.

A life transition can be positive or negative, planned or unexpected. Some transitions happen without warning, and they may be quite dramatic, as in cases of accidents, death, divorce, job loss, or serious illness. Other life transitions come from positive experiences such as getting married, going away to college, starting a new job, moving to a new city, or giving birth to a child. Even though events like these are usually planned and anticipated, they can be just as life-altering as the unexpected events. Whether positive or negative, life transitions cause us to leave behind the familiar and force us to adjust to new ways of living, at least temporarily. They can leave us feeling completely unprepared and we may be thrown into a personal crisis, feeling shocked, angry, sad, and withdrawn.

Examples of Life Transitions

Life transitions can include any of the following:

• Buying a house
• Changing jobs
• Getting married
• Having a baby
• Leaving for college
• Selling a house
• Serious illness
• Significant loss (of a person, job, pet, or anything important)
• Starting a career

Stages of Life Transitions

Successfully moving through a life transition usually means experiencing the following stages:

• Experience a range of negative feelings (anger, anxiety, confusion, numbness, and self-doubt)
• Feel a loss of self-esteem
• Begin to accept the change
• Acknowledge that you need to let go of the past and accept the future
• Begin to feel hopeful about the future
• Feel increased self-esteem
• Develop an optimistic view of the future

The process of moving through a transition does not always proceed in order, in these nice, predictable stages. People usually move through the process in different ways, often cycling back and forth among the stages.

Coping Skills

Life transitions are often difficult, but they have a positive side, too. They provide us with an opportunity to assess the direction our lives are taking. They are a chance to grow and learn. Here are some ideas that may help make the process rewarding.

Accept that change is a normal part of life. People who have this attitude seem to have the easiest time getting through life transitions. Seeing changes as negative or as experiences that must be avoided makes them more difficult to navigate and less personally productive.

Identify your values and life goals. If a person knows who they are and what they want from life, they may see the change as just another life challenge. These people are willing to take responsibility for their actions and do not blame others for the changes that come along without warning.

Learn to identify and express your feelings. While it’s normal to try to push away feelings of fear and anxiety, you will move through them more quickly if you acknowledge them. Make them real by writing them down and talking about them with trusted friends and family members. These feelings will have less power over you if you face them and express them.

Focus on the payoffs. Think about what you have learned from other life transitions. Recall the stages you went through, and identify what you gained and learned from each experience. Such transitions can provide a productive time to do some important self-exploration. They can be a chance to overcome fears and to learn to deal with uncertainty. These can be the gifts of the transition process: to learn more about yourself and what makes you happy and fulfilled.

Don’t be in a rush. When your life is disrupted, it takes time to adjust to the new reality. Expect to feel uncomfortable during a transition as you let go of old ways of doing things. Try to avoid starting new activities too soon, before you have had a chance to reflect and think about what is really best for you.

Expect to feel uncomfortable. A time of transition is confusing and disorienting. It is normal to feel insecure and anxious. These feelings are part of the process, and they will pass.

Stay sober. Using alcohol or drugs during this confusing time is not a good idea. It can only make the process more difficult.

Take good care of yourself. Transitions are very stressful, even if they are supposed to be happy times. You may not feel well enough to participate in your normal activities. Find something fun to do for yourself each day. Get plenty of rest, exercise, and eat well.

Build your support system. Seek the support of friends and family members, especially those who accept you without judging you and encourage you to express your true feelings. A time of transition is also an excellent time to seek the support of a mental health professional. He or she can guide you through the transition process in a safe and supportive environment.

Acknowledge what you are leaving behind. This is the first step to accepting the new. Think about how you respond to endings in your life: Do you generally avoid them, like the person who ducks out early on her last day on the job because she can’t bear to say good-bye? Or do you drag them out because you have such a hard time letting go? Perhaps you make light of endings, refusing to let yourself feel sad. Before you can welcome the new, you must acknowledge and let go of the old.

Keep some things consistent. When you are experiencing a significant life change, it helps to keep as much of your daily routine consistent as you can.

Accept that you may never completely understand what has happened to you. You are likely to spend a lot of time feeling confused and afraid. This makes most of us very uncomfortable. The discomfort and confusion will pass, and clarity will return.

Take one step at a time. It’s understandable to feel like your life has become unmanageable. To regain a sense of power, find one small thing you can control right now. Then break it down into small, specific, concrete steps. Write them down and post them on your computer monitor or mirror. Cross off each step as you accomplish it.

Times of life transitions offer you the chance to explore what your ideal life would look like. When things are in disarray, you can reflect on the hopes and dreams you once had but perhaps forgot about. Take this time to write about them in a journal or talk about them with a trusted friend or therapist. Now is a good time to take advantage of the fork in the road.

Help Me! is a finalist in the Family & Relationships, Psychology and Self-Help categories . Winners will be announced June 24, 2017

Subscribe to my mailing list

Receive all new articles, commentaries and updates on events and my book directly to your inbox..

As you may know, up until May 2016, this article was freely available to the public without registration. Now, however, this article and many more are available in edited form in my new book, Help Me! .

I was advised during the publishing process to completely remove all of these articles from this site, but it’s very important to me that these articles stay accessible to the public in their original form, to help those in need and to help increase understanding.

Therefore, I’m requiring you to take a moment and register with this site to be able to access all of the restricted content on this site, for free. If you’d like, during registration you are also welcome to sign up for my mailing list, which will allow you to receive all new articles and commentaries posted to this site in your inbox automatically.

Some of my most popular posts do not require registration at all.

If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me .

190 Good Transition Words for Essays

August 23, 2023

Essay writing consists of two primary procedures: coming up with the content we want to include and structuring that content. These procedures might take place in either order or they could occur simultaneously. When writing an essay it is important to think about the ways that content and structure complement one another. The best essays join these two elements in thoughtful ways. Transition words for essays (including for college essays) are some of our most primary tools when it comes to structuring a piece of writing.

When beginning an essay it is often recommended to begin with a messy first draft. The purpose of this draft is to get everything out on the page. You should put down as many ideas and trajectories as you can without worrying too much about phrasing or whether they will make it into the final draft. The key here is to be loose—to get ahead of our self-editors and expel everything we can from our minds.

List of Good Transition Words for Essays (Continued)

While this is a good strategy for beginning an essay it will likely leave you unsure how everything fits together. This is where transition words come in. As you will see in this list (which is necessarily incomplete) the range of transition words for essays is vast. Each transition word implies a different relation, often in subtle ways. After accumulating content, the next step is to figure out how the elements fit together towards an overall goal (this could be but is not necessarily an “argument”). Consulting this list of transition words for essays can provide a shortcut for determining how one piece might lead into another. Along with transition words, rhetorical devices and literary devices are other tools to consider during this stage of essay writing.

Transition Words for College Essays

While this list will be a useful tool for all types of essay writing it will be particularly helpful when it comes to finding the right transition words for college essays . The goal of a college essay is to give a strong overall sense of its author in the tight space of 650 words. As you might imagine, it’s not easy to encompass a life or convey a complex personality in such a space. When writing a college essay you are working with a huge amount of potential content. Students often want to squeeze in as much as they can. To this end, transition words for college essays are essential tools to have at our disposal.

Here is our list of transition words for college essays and other essays. It is organized by the different types of transition words/phrases and their functions. While this organization should be convenient, keep in mind that there’s plenty of overlap. Many of these words can function in multiple ways.

1) Additive Transitions

These words function in an additive manner, accumulating content to build upon what has already been stated. They can be used to construct an argument or establish a scene through the accumulation of details.

• Additionally
• In addition to
• Furthermore
• Not to mention
• In all honesty
• To tell the truth
• Not only…but also
• As a matter of fact
• To say nothing of
• What’s more
• Alternatively
• To go a step further

 2) Comparative Transitions (Similarity)

  These transition words draw a parallel or bring out a similarity between images or ideas. They can be used not only in a straightforward sense but also to establish relations of similarity between objects or ideas that might appear to be dissonant.

• In the same way
• In a similar vein
• Along the lines of
• In the key of

 3) Comparative Transitions (Difference)

  While also functioning comparatively, the following words demonstrate difference between ideas or images. These transition words are useful when it comes to establishing contrasting points of view, an important component of any argument.

• On the other hand
• On the contrary
• In contrast to
• In contradiction
• Nevertheless
• Nonetheless
• In any event
• In any case
• In either event

4) Sequential Transitions

  The following are particularly effective transition words for college essays. They will allow you to order ideas chronologically or in a sequence, providing a sense of continuity over time. This is particularly useful when an essay leans into something more creative or involves telling a story.

• Subsequently
• At the same time
• Concurrently
• In the beginning
• At the start
• At the outset
• Off the bat

5) Spatial Transitions

Rather than organizing ideas or images in regards to sequence, these transitions indicate spatial relationships. They are particularly useful when it comes to painting a scene and/or describing objects, but they can also be used metaphorically. Consider, for example, how you might use the transition, “standing in […’s] shadow.”

• Standing in […’s] shadow
• In front of
• In the middle
• In the center
• To the left
• To the right
• On the side
• Adjacent to
• Around the bend
• On the outskirts
• In the distance
• On the horizon
• In the foreground
• In the background
• Underground
• Through the grapevine

 6) Causal Transitions

These transition words for essays indicate cause and effect relationships between ideas. They will be particularly useful when you are structuring a logical argument, i.e. using logos as a mode of persuasion . Causal transitions are an important element of academic, legal and scientific writing.

• Accordingly
• Resultingly
• As a result
• Consequently
• In consequence
• As a consequence
• For this reason
• So much that
• Granting that
• That being the case
• Under those circumstances
• With this in mind
• For the purpose of
• For all intents and purposes
• In the event that
• In the event of
• In light of
• On the condition that
• To the extent that

7) Examples/Illustration/Supporting Transition

  These transition words for college essays can be used to introduce supporting evidence, emphasis, examples, and clarification. There is some overlap here with additive transitions and causal transitions. These transitions are also useful when it comes to building an argument. At the same time, they can signal a shift into a different linguistic register.

• For example
• For instance
• In other words
• As an illustration
• To illustrate
• To put it differently
• To put it another way
• That is to say
• As the evidence illustrates
• It’s important to realize
• It’s important to understand
• It must be remembered
• To demonstrate
• For clarity’s sake
• To emphasize
• To put it plainly
• To enumerate
• To speak metaphorically

8) Conclusory Transitions

These transition words for essays serve to bring an idea or story to a close. They offer a clear way of signaling the conclusion of a particular train of thought. They might be followed by a summary or a restatement of an essay’s argument. In this way they also provide emphasis, setting the reader up for what is about to come.

• In conclusion
• To summarize
• To put it succinctly
• To this end
• At the end of the day
• In the final analysis
• By and large
• On second thought
• On first glance
• That’s all to say
• On the whole
• All things considered
• Generally speaking

List of Good Transition Words for Essays (Final Thoughts)

Even when elements appear to be disparate on first glance, transition words are a great tool for giving your essay a smooth flow. They can also create surprising juxtapositions, relationships, and equivalences. The way a reader will understand a transition word depends on the context in which they encounter it.

Individual words and phrases can be used in a wide variety of ways, ranging from the literal to the figurative to the colloquial or idiomatic. “Through the grapevine” is an example of the colloquial or idiomatic. When we encounter this phrase we don’t interpret it literally (as hearing something “through” a grapevine) but rather as hearing news secondhand. There are, of course, a vast number of idioms that are not included in this list but can also function as transitional phrases.

This list of transition words for college essays (and really any form of writing you might be working on) is a resource that you can return to again and again in your life as a writer. Over years of writing we tend to fall into patterns when it comes to the transition words we use. Mixing things up can be exciting both as a writer and for your readers. Even if you don’t choose to stray from your trusted transitions, considering the alternatives (and why they don’t work for you) can offer a deeper understanding of what you are trying to say.

List of Good Transition Words for Essays (An Exercise)

As an exercise in self-understanding, you may want to try highlighting all of the transition words in a piece of your own writing. You can then compare this to the transition words in a piece of writing that you admire. Are they using similar transitions or others? Are they using them more or less often? What do you like or dislike about them? We all use transition words differently, creating different tonal effects. Keeping an eye out for them, not only as a writer but also as a reader, will help you develop your own aesthetic.

• College Essay

Emmett Lewis

Emmett holds a BA in Philosophy from Vassar College and is currently completing an MFA in Writing at Columbia University. Previously, he served as a writing instructor within the Columbia Artists/Teachers community as well as a Creative Writing Teaching Fellow at Columbia, where he taught poetry workshops. In addition, Emmett is a member of the Poetry Board at the Columbia Journal , and his work has been published in HAD , Otoliths , and Some Kind of Opening , among others.

• 2-Year Colleges
• Application Strategies
• Best Colleges by Major
• Best Colleges by State
• Big Picture
• Career & Personality Assessment
• College Search/Knowledge
• College Success
• Costs & Financial Aid
• Dental School Admissions
• Extracurricular Activities
• Graduate School Admissions
• High School Success
• High Schools
• Law School Admissions
• Medical School Admissions
• Navigating the Admissions Process
• Online Learning
• Private High School Spotlight
• Summer Program Spotlight
• Summer Programs
• Test Prep Provider Spotlight

“Innovative and invaluable…use this book as your college lifeline.”

— Lynn O'Shaughnessy

Nationally Recognized College Expert

College Planning in Your Inbox

Join our information-packed monthly newsletter.

Life Transition Essays

Life stage integrative paper, popular essay topics.

• American Dream
• Artificial Intelligence
• Black Lives Matter
• Bullying Essay
• Career Goals Essay
• Causes of the Civil War
• Child Abusing
• Civil Rights Movement
• Community Service
• Cultural Identity
• Cyber Bullying
• Death Penalty
• Depression Essay
• Domestic Violence
• Freedom of Speech
• Global Warming
• Gun Control
• Human Trafficking
• I Believe Essay
• Immigration
• Importance of Education
• Israel and Palestine Conflict
• Leadership Essay
• Legalizing Marijuanas
• Mental Health
• National Honor Society
• Police Brutality
• Pollution Essay
• Racism Essay
• Romeo and Juliet
• Same Sex Marriages
• Social Media
• The Great Gatsby
• The Yellow Wallpaper
• Time Management
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Violent Video Games
• What Makes You Unique
• Why I Want to Be a Nurse
• Send us an e-mail

33 Transition Words and Phrases

Transitional terms give writers the opportunity to prepare readers for a new idea, connecting the previous sentence to the next one.

Many transitional words are nearly synonymous: words that broadly indicate that “this follows logically from the preceding” include accordingly, therefore, and consequently . Words that mean “in addition to” include moreover, besides, and further . Words that mean “contrary to what was just stated” include however, nevertheless , and nonetheless .

as a result : THEREFORE : CONSEQUENTLY

The executive’s flight was delayed and they accordingly arrived late.

in or by way of addition : FURTHERMORE

The mountain has many marked hiking trails; additionally, there are several unmarked trails that lead to the summit.

at a later or succeeding time : SUBSEQUENTLY, THEREAFTER

Afterward, she got a promotion.

even though : ALTHOUGH

She appeared as a guest star on the show, albeit briefly.

in spite of the fact that : even though —used when making a statement that differs from or contrasts with a statement you have just made

They are good friends, although they don't see each other very often.

in addition to what has been said : MOREOVER, FURTHERMORE

I can't go, and besides, I wouldn't go if I could.

as a result : in view of the foregoing : ACCORDINGLY

The words are often confused and are consequently misused.

in a contrasting or opposite way —used to introduce a statement that contrasts with a previous statement or presents a differing interpretation or possibility

Large objects appear to be closer. Conversely, small objects seem farther away.

used to introduce a statement that is somehow different from what has just been said

These problems are not as bad as they were. Even so, there is much more work to be done.

used as a stronger way to say "though" or "although"

I'm planning to go even though it may rain.

in addition : MOREOVER

I had some money to invest, and, further, I realized that the risk was small.

in addition to what precedes : BESIDES —used to introduce a statement that supports or adds to a previous statement

These findings seem plausible. Furthermore, several studies have confirmed them.

because of a preceding fact or premise : for this reason : THEREFORE

He was a newcomer and hence had no close friends here.

from this point on : starting now

She announced that henceforth she would be running the company.

in spite of that : on the other hand —used when you are saying something that is different from or contrasts with a previous statement

I'd like to go; however, I'd better not.

as something more : BESIDES —used for adding information to a statement

The city has the largest population in the country and in addition is a major shipping port.

all things considered : as a matter of fact —used when making a statement that adds to or strengthens a previous statement

He likes to have things his own way; indeed, he can be very stubborn.

for fear that —often used after an expression denoting fear or apprehension

He was concerned lest anyone think that he was guilty.

in addition : ALSO —often used to introduce a statement that adds to and is related to a previous statement

She is an acclaimed painter who is likewise a sculptor.

at or during the same time : in the meantime

You can set the table. Meanwhile, I'll start making dinner.

BESIDES, FURTHER : in addition to what has been said —used to introduce a statement that supports or adds to a previous statement

It probably wouldn't work. Moreover, it would be very expensive to try it.

in spite of that : HOWEVER

It was a predictable, but nevertheless funny, story.

in spite of what has just been said : NEVERTHELESS

The hike was difficult, but fun nonetheless.

without being prevented by (something) : despite—used to say that something happens or is true even though there is something that might prevent it from happening or being true

Notwithstanding their youth and inexperience, the team won the championship.

if not : or else

Finish your dinner. Otherwise, you won't get any dessert.

more correctly speaking —used to introduce a statement that corrects what you have just said

We can take the car, or rather, the van.

in spite of that —used to say that something happens or is true even though there is something that might prevent it from happening or being true

I tried again and still I failed.

by that : by that means

He signed the contract, thereby forfeiting his right to the property.

for that reason : because of that

This tablet is thin and light and therefore very convenient to carry around.

immediately after that

The committee reviewed the documents and thereupon decided to accept the proposal.

because of this or that : HENCE, CONSEQUENTLY

This detergent is highly concentrated and thus you will need to dilute it.

while on the contrary —used to make a statement that describes how two people, groups, etc., are different

Some of these species have flourished, whereas others have struggled.

NEVERTHELESS, HOWEVER —used to introduce a statement that adds something to a previous statement and usually contrasts with it in some way

It was pouring rain out, yet his clothes didn’t seem very wet.

Word of the Day

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Games & Quizzes

Usage Notes

Prepositions, ending a sentence with, is 'irregardless' a real word, 8 more grammar terms you used to know: special verb edition, point of view: it's personal, 31 useful rhetorical devices, grammar & usage, a list of most commonly confused words, more commonly misspelled words, 10 words you see but don't hear, your vs. you're: how to use them correctly, every letter is silent, sometimes: a-z list of examples, 9 other words for beautiful, rare and amusing insults, volume 2, etymologies for every day of the week, the words of the week - apr. 19, 10 words from taylor swift songs (merriam's version).

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

A Few Words About Nests

By Margaret Renkl

Ms. Renkl is a contributing Opinion writer who covers flora, fauna, politics and culture in the American South.

Spring is proceeding apace in this yard, despite my worst fears. For 28 of the 29 years that my husband and I have lived in this house, the elderly widow next door mostly shared our commitment to a natural yard. And because her house backed up to a little patch of woods, too, between us we managed to create a miniature wildlife sanctuary. I could sit outside in springtime and hold very still while a tufted titmouse pulled hairs from my head and carried them to her nest in the yard next door.

After my neighbor’s death last year, a backhoe demolished the house and nearly all the old trees along with it. I worried about what would happen to the birds now that so many nesting sites were gone.

In most ways, it’s been a glorious spring anyway, despite the ceaseless hammering next door. The spring beauties and woodland violets are nearly bloomed out now, but already other flowers have taken their place. It will be this way till frost.

And yet, all spring, our yard has been bereft of nests. By mid-April we would normally have bluebirds in the nest box in the front yard , chickadees in at least one of the boxes in the side yards , and Carolina wrens in the pots hanging from the eaves out back (or, last year, in the bag where I keep my clothespin s). There’s almost always a robin nest in the cherry tree, a mockingbird nest in the holly beside the driveway, and a cardinal nest in one of the foundation plants.

One year a pair of cardinals nested in a shrub so close to the house it brushed our bedroom window. I left the curtains closed to keep from bothering the birds, but every now and then I would poke the lens of my camera through the crack where the curtains came together. In that way I watched the female sit patiently on her eggs through cold nights and spring rains. I was watching, too, when both babies took their first flight.

Most songbird nests are miracles of architecture and engineering. A mourning dove is a sloppy engineer, but nearly everybody else goes to great lengths to create the perfect nursery. Bluebirds weave pine straw into a shallow cup so perfect you would swear opposable thumbs were involved. Carolina wrens build elaborate domed nest s embellished with skeletonized leaves.

My favorite backyard nest-builder may be the tufted titmouse, who braves the wrath of all manner of mammals to pluck out their fur for nest-lining. Can you imagine a titmouse, weighing less than an ounce, daring to gather nest materials from the living bodies of raccoons, opossums, dogs, squirrels, groundhogs and essayists? And yet they do. For the sake of the young they hope to raise safely, they do.

This year there were no nests, at least no obvious ones. I saw a pair of house finches chasing a cowbird out of the yard once, which may mean there’s a house finch nest nearby, though I haven’t noticed it. And back in mid-February, a pair of bluebirds seemed to be making plans to move into the front-yard box but ultimately decided against it. I finally checked the box last week and found it inhabited by an ant colony. They were house ants, who pose no risk to baby birds, but perhaps bluebirds can’t tell the difference between native house ants and invasive fire ants, which are widespread in the South. Whatever the reason, no ant-occupied nest box in this yard has ever been chosen by house-hunting birds.

Fortunately, it’s easy to get ants to move their own nest. I opened the box, let the light in, and left them alone long enough to move their eggs to a new site. In this place where developers keep mowing down trees, and tree services keep ruthlessly pruning deadwood, cavity-nesters have little to work with. I figured the birds would be back within days.

So far, no luck, but I was happy that the Carolina chickadees were also nowhere to be found. Chickadees, who live here year-round, get a head start on nest building, but house wrens, who spend the winter much farther south, will destroy any chickadee nest they find in territory they’ve claimed for their own. And in recent years they have claimed this yard. To persuade the chickadees to nest somewhere else, I never cleaned last year’s wren nests out of the boxes.

I thought my plan was working. House wrens construct their nests from sticks, and all three of our chickadee boxes still had sticks poking out the bottom. Once, I did see a chickadee emerging from the nest box hanging in the rose arbor, but the sticks told me all was well. Chickadees in this yard have always built their nests out of moss.

Then, last week, I heard the unmistakable courtship song of a house wren. I can’t help rooting for the chickadees, it’s true, but I also can’t bear the thought of house wrens trying to raise their young in a dirty box colonized by ants or mites. It was time to remove the old nests.

The first box held only the sticks from last year’s nest. The second box held an old house wren nest and also a house ant nest. The third box, the one high in the rose arbor, held a mossy chickadee nest, carefully built on top of last year’s house wren nest. When I opened the box, the brooding female shot out the door. I peeked inside. A tiny bald nestling raised its head and gaped at me .

Installing a nest box comes with certain responsibilities. A natural cavity is part of a natural system, but a nest box is a human contrivance, one that sticks out like a sore thumb in a world of soft borders and dappled light. A human being who installs a nest box is obliged to make every effort to keep it safe. During nesting season, I check my boxes every few days to be sure they haven’t been taken over by wasps or mites, or to remove any dead chicks. It’s even possible to install a wren guard on certain styles of nest boxes, though ours are not among them. I might need to replace all my chickadee boxes next year, and move them to new places in the yard, too.

I have not heard the house wren singing since the day he arrived. He may have kept flying north. Even so, I won’t be checking the chickadee nest again. Right now it is somewhat camouflaged by leafy rose canes, and I don’t want curious wren eyes to follow me and my ladder right to where it is hidden. I won’t know how those baby birds are faring unless I see the remnants of a mossy nest caught in the rose thorns.

That uncertainty, the knowing of a very few things in the context of all the things I cannot know, is inevitably the way of things in this yard, and nearly everywhere else, too. Are my nest boxes compensating for the loss of natural tree cavities in a city in the grip of convulsive growth? Or are they merely luring defenseless birds to nest in dangerous places?

I don’t know the answer to this question, and I may never know it. All I know is that there are baby birds in my yard again at last. And, God help me, I will never cease rejoicing.

Margaret Renkl , a contributing Opinion writer, is the author of the books “ The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, ” “ Graceland, at Last ” and “ Late Migrations .”

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

Follow the New York Times Opinion section on Facebook , Instagram , TikTok , WhatsApp , X and Threads .

SA Parole Board shares plan for Snowtown accomplice Mark Ray Haydon to transition to life after jail

Snowtown accomplice Mark Ray Haydon is being slowly reintroduced to the community, with the head of South Australia's Parole Board saying the "world has changed a lot" since he was taken into custody.

Haydon has been released from jail and is residing at the Adelaide Pre-release Centre before his head sentence ends in May. 

SA Parole Board chair Frances Nelson KC told ABC Radio Adelaide the pre-release centre was a "stepping stone".

"He's currently having some excursions with people to assist him, it's not that we open the door and say, 'see you later come back at 8 o'clock'," Ms Nelson said.

"People have to obey a curfew and they have to obey the rules of the institution.

"Because when someone serves a long sentence – and Haydon's done 25 years – the world has changed a lot.

"So, we would not be allowing him to go out on his own for the day, for example, and he wouldn't want to, because the world for him is a pretty challenging place.

"He doesn't know how to get public transport, he doesn't know how to access Centrelink, he has to learn how to use a mobile phone; things that people take for granted, he has to learn.

"So, we have people working with him, who will go out with him and introduce him to catching public transport, how to shop, that sort of thing."

First of four men convicted over murders to be given parole

The 65-year-old is the first of four men charged over the Snowtown murders to be given parole.

He was jailed for 25 years for seven counts of assisting the Snowtown killers, who murdered 11 people in total.

The murders, committed by John Justin Bunting, Robert Joe Wagner and James Spyridon Vlassakis, became notorious for the horrific way in which the victims were killed and their bodies were disposed of.

Haydon, despite being granted parole in February, had to wait for almost two months to be released to the pre-release centre.

The delay was caused by the fact that SA Attorney-General Kyam Maher, Police Commissioner Grant Stevens and the Commissioner for Victims' Rights Sarah Quick had up to 60 days to decide if they wanted to ask for a review of the parole decision.

All three decided not to review so, the SA Parole Board arranged with The Department for Correctional Services (DCS) for his parole to begin.

While in the pre-release centre, Haydon is subject to both the centre's rules and the conditions of his parole.

His parole conditions include electronic monitoring, a curfew, regular reporting to corrections, no contact with victims and no communication with the media.

"He's still a prisoner, with the privilege of serving the balance of his sentence on parole until about the third week in May when his sentence ends," Ms Nelson said.

Haydon still faces the possibility of being monitored beyond his 25-year sentence.

The state government has applied to have Haydon placed on an extended supervision order so he can have conditions placed on him, similar to those while on parole.

The Attorney-General also changed the law after a "loophole" was found in the legislation that may have allowed Haydon to return to the community without any supervision.

Ms Nelson said Haydon had been a model prisoner and had shown he was a low risk of reoffending.

"He is going to be out in the community and we've done our best to prepare for that eventuality," Ms Nelson said. 

"I understand that politicians react to community concern, but neither the politicians or members of the community are close to the case or the man as corrections are, as the parole board is, because we've monitored his progress over a number of years.

"He's (got) high notoriety, and those offences were horrendous so, I understand that people in the community may be concerned because the Snowtown events are revisited and highlighted.

"But 25 years later we're dealing with a different man and that's the reality.

"The courts said he would serve 25 years, that's a matter for the courts."

A 'difficult time' for family of victims

SA's Commissioner for Victims' Rights Sarah Quick told the ABC she had kept victims informed about Haydon's release from jail. 

"This is obviously an incredibly difficult time for the victims," she said.

"Just as it is a period of adjustment for Mr Haydon, it is a time of significant adjustment for victims.

"They are all coming to terms with what Mr Haydon's release on parole and end of sentence means for them and their lives.

"Naturally, they feel uncertain, apprehensive and fearful."

Ms Quick encouraged victims to access counselling support if they felt they were struggling to cope.

• X (formerly Twitter)

Related Stories

Snowtown 'bodies-in-the-barrels' accomplice mark haydon released from prison.

Snowtown 'bodies-in-the-barrels' accomplice Mark Ray Haydon set to be released from jail

Mark Ray Haydon was beaten by his mother, bullied at school and went on to cover up one of the country's worst serial killings

• Courts and Trials
• Prisons and Punishment

• Today's news
• Reviews and deals
• Climate change
• 2024 election
• Fall allergies
• Health news
• Mental health
• Sexual health
• Family health
• So mini ways
• Unapologetically
• Buying guides

Entertainment

• How to Watch
• My watchlist
• Stock market
• Biden economy
• Personal finance
• Stocks: most active
• Stocks: gainers
• Stocks: losers
• Trending tickers
• World indices
• US Treasury bonds
• Top mutual funds
• Highest open interest
• Highest implied volatility
• Currency converter
• Basic materials
• Communication services
• Consumer cyclical
• Consumer defensive
• Financial services
• Industrials
• Real estate
• Mutual funds
• Credit cards
• Credit card rates
• Balance transfer credit cards
• Business credit cards
• Cash back credit cards
• Rewards credit cards
• Travel credit cards
• Checking accounts
• Online checking accounts
• High-yield savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Personal loans
• Student loans
• Car insurance
• Home buying
• Options pit
• Investment ideas
• Research reports
• Fantasy football
• Pro Pick 'Em
• College Pick 'Em
• Fantasy baseball
• Fantasy hockey
• Fantasy basketball
• Download the app
• Daily fantasy
• Scores and schedules
• GameChannel
• World Baseball Classic
• Premier League
• CONCACAF League
• Champions League
• Motorsports
• Horse racing
• Newsletters

New on Yahoo

• Privacy Dashboard

Panama Papers trial's public portion comes to an unexpectedly speedy end

Panama papers trial.

• Oops! Something went wrong. Please try again later. More content below

PANAMA CITY (AP) — The public portion of a trial of more than two-dozen associates accused of helping some of the world’s richest people hide their wealth came to an unexpectedly speedy conclusion Friday when a Panamanian judge said she would take the two weeks of trial arguments and testimony under advisement.

The trial came eight years after 11 million leaked secret financial documents that became known as the “Panama Papers” prompted the resignation of the prime minister of Iceland and brought scrutiny to the then-leaders of Argentina and Ukraine, Chinese politicians, and Russian President Vladimir Putin , among others.

Judge Baloisa Marquínez noted Friday that the case included more than 530 volumes of information. The public trial had been expected to run to the end of the month. The judge has 30 working days to issue a verdict.

Those on trial include the owners of the Mossack Fonseca law firm that was at the heart of the 2016 massive document leak. Jürgen Mossack attended the trial, while his partner Ramón Fonseca did not for health reasons, according to his counsel.

Panamanian prosecutors allege that Mossack, Fonseca and their associates created a web of shell companies that used complex transactions to hide money linked to illicit activities in the “car wash” corruption scandal of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht .

“This whole process from eight years ago until now … has had a lot of consequences for my family, on my personal situation and truly has been a great injustice not just for me but for all of the people who have worked with me,” Mossack testified Friday. “I trust your honor will know how to evaluate all that has been said here.”

Mossack had said at the start of the trial, as he has for years, that he was not guilty of the money laundering charges.

According to Panamanian prosecutors, the Mossack Fonseca firm created 44 shell companies, 31 of which opened accounts in Panama to hide money linked to the Brazilian scandal.

Fonseca has said the firm, which closed in 2018, had no control over how its clients might use offshore vehicles created for them.

Mossack Fonseca helped create and sell around 240,000 shell companies across four decades in business. It announced its closure in March 2018, two years after the scandal erupted.

The firm's documents were first leaked to the German daily Suddeutsche Zeitung, and were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which began publishing collaborative reports with news organizations in 2016.

“The reputational deterioration, the media campaign, the financial siege and the irregular actions of some Panamanian authorities have caused irreparable damage, whose consequence is the complete cease of operations to the public,” the firm said in a statement at the time.

The Mossack and Fonseca were acquitted on other charges in 2022.

Recommended Stories

How the jury was selected in trump's hush money trial.

Jury selection concluded Friday with six alternate jurors picked to join the panel of 12 that will ultimately decide the former president's fate.

Trump's hush money trial, as seen through courtroom sketches

Since it’s not being televised — and news photographers are only permitted in for 45 seconds at the start of each day — the only other images from inside the courtroom are portraits being done by sketch artists.

Jets QB Zach Wilson is skipping offseason workouts while hoping to be traded

New York Jets quarterback Zach Wilson has skipped the team's offseason workouts as he hopes to be traded to another club. But there has been little interest from other teams thus far.

Lando Norris takes F1 Chinese Grand Prix sprint pole from Hamilton

McLaren's Lando Norris had his fastest lap deleted and reinstated as he seized pole position for the Chinese Grand Prix sprint race at the end of a wet and chaotic qualifying on Friday.

Is Taylor Swift singing about Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy or Travis Kelce on 'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology'? Fans investigate the personal lyrics.

Swifties are swept up in breaking down "The Tortured Poets Department."

Harvard's startup whisperer, Peter Gladstone, reveals secrets to validating consumer demand at TechCrunch Early Stage

Validating consumer demand is a crucial step for any startup, and TechCrunch Early Stage is offering a golden opportunity to learn how to do it right. Peter Gladstone, senior adviser for startups at Harvard Innovation Labs, is set to lead an engaging roundtable titled "Validating Consumer Demand: How to Make the Most of Your Expertise." With decades of experience as an entrepreneur, marketer, and investor, Gladstone brings a wealth of knowledge to the table.

We found Apple AirTags on sale — get four for just $20 each

Track down lost items quickly with the sleek little locators, up for grabs at a rare discount.

Ford CEO Jim Farley teases a mystery Mustang

Ford is celebrating 60 years of Mustang with a series of events, and Farley's post suggests that a new variant is in the works.

Trump trial updates: Jury selection finished, man sets himself on fire outside courthouse

Five more alternate jurors were selected Friday following questioning from prosecution and defense lawyers, rounding out the 12 jurors and six alternates needed for the case against Trump to proceed.

Junkyard Gem: 1992 Subaru SVX

A 1992 Subaru SVX in a Denver self-service wrecking yard.

Pet parents say they 'would marry' this hair-busting broom — and it's only $13 at Amazon

Snag the cleaning tool over 66,000 fans swear by for keeping their floors fur-free.

The Apple Watch Series 9 is available for just $329 — save $70 on this feature-filled smartwatch

It's easily the best wearable on the market right now.

Is calorie intake or time-restricted eating more important for weight loss? Here's what a new study says.

Does when you eat matter when it comes to losing weight? Here's what one new study found.

Signs of multiple sclerosis can be detected in blood 5 years before symptoms appear, new study finds. Here's why this breakthrough is important.

What you need to know about the study, as well as who is most at risk for multiple sclerosis and early signs to look out for.

Trump trial updates: 'We have our jury,' Judge Merchan declares after turbulent day in court

Six alternates still need to be selected before opening arguments.

'We've evolved': Netflix explains decision to stop reporting crucial subscriber data

Netflix will no longer report membership numbers starting next year.

The 10 best deodorants and antiperspirants for women of 2024, according to dermatologists and testers

From Secret to Kopari, Megababe and Mitchum, these are the best deodorants for women, tested and dermatologist-approved.

Quicken Simplifi subscriptions are half off through April 21

Quicken Simplifi subscriptions are half off through April 21. This brings the price down to $2 per month, which is billed annually at $24.

Ibotta’s IPO opens sharply higher, hinting at warming public-market interest in tech shares

Ibotta began its path as a public company on Thursday by opening at $117 per share, a big increase from its IPO price of $88, itself an increase from its proposed range of $76 to $84 per share. The company left money on the table “for investors who are very bullish on it [expanding] its third-party platform beyond just Walmart,” which has become a key partner for Ibotta and represents much of its current revenue, said Nicholas Smith, a senior research analyst at pre-IPO research company Renaissance Capital. Its successful debut marks the third major tech IPO in the United States this year, and is the third in a row to price well and immediately trade higher.

Trump Media stock jumps for second day as company goes to battle with short sellers

Trump Media is advising investors on ways to prevent their shares from being loaned for a short-interest position.