Dealing with Stress Surrounding Positive Change

We tend to think stress goes hand in hand with times of struggle. It’s expected when a spouse has a chronic illness, a child’s grades are slipping, or there is financial strain. However, did you know that stress can also accompany positive change? Dealing with stress in times of growth or change is just as important as during negative circumstances. It’s easier to overlook stress when we’re surrounded by transitions related to good things.

For example, if your spouse gets a job promotion, but it requires more travel, you can easily dismiss the difficulty of your own adjustment to his new schedule because it’s “a good change.” However, having to navigate your spouse’s absence and for your spouse who is missing family life more than usual can produce stress.

Stress also creeps in when we ignore our emotions or try to “wish them away.” It may be that you feel guilty for your attitude about the new house you just bought. It’s bigger, better, and in a safer neighborhood. But it is also more house to clean, a new neighborhood to adjust to, and new friendships to navigate. While the move is a positive change, it brings stress along with it, and ignoring how you feel is a sure way to let that stress build.

Tips for Dealing with Stress

Here are some healthy means of dealing with stress surrounding positive change:

Acknowledge the entire range of emotional responses.

It’s easy to ignore negative feelings because you feel that you are not entitled to them – nothing is technically wrong, right? However, just as your wiring is varied and complex, your emotional state is too. It is entirely possible to feel immense gratitude for the good things that have come your way while also struggling to adjust to the change that these good things have initiated.

Return to faithful practices.

This may mean a short walk every morning or a series of stretches at night. It could be a cup of tea in the afternoon or time for reading a book in the evening. Building a habit of stopping everything that is pulling at you to complete a ritual that brings you peace is a step in the direction of calming your mind and body.

Try breath control when you are overwhelmed.

Whether it’s another new neighbor’s name to remember, calling the utility company to start service, or unpacking another box, you are free to stop, pay attention to your breathing, and intentionally slow it down to restore calm. Thephysical act of slow breath can restore physiological peace, and it’s the start of a domino effect in your mental and emotional responses.

Go to the Bible for comfort.

Memorize one verse and repeat it to yourself when you recognize that you’re stressed. An example may be 1 Chronicles 16:11, which says, “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His presence continually.” Remembering that God is always with you can be a highly effective way to deal with stress.

Recognize God’s sovereignty in your circumstances.

Perhaps you know that the new job was something God wanted for your family, but the transition has been tough for your children to
get used to. Stopping a family meal to pray and ask for His wisdom in adjusting is another means of dealing with stress that your children may be experiencing. When they recognize that God sovereignly ordains all things, it may invite conversation about joyfully submitting to His will and finding ways to recognize His presence.

Deuteronomy 13:8 reminds us, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Keep a journal.

Whether it’s a voice journal on your phone, something you type on your computer, or a hand-written record, a journal can help you process the new, good changes. Something about slowing the pace of life long enough to regularly record what’s happening can bring closure to what used to be and revelation about today.

This kind of daily practice also serves as a reminder of God’s daily new mercies when we’re dealing with stress. Lamentations, a book of grieving and sorrow, reminds God’s followers that there is room for grief and joy to co-exist. Even positive change can carry an element of grief, and it’s good to remember the daily faithfulness of the Lord.

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ – Lam. 3:22-24

If you find yourself dealing with stress in your positive circumstances, ask for help. Seek out a trained counselor who can help you with some stress management techniques to restore calm amidst times of change – even positive ones.