The Narrow Place: Expanding Through Transitions | Owning Pink

When you’re in transition, you may feel very, very uncomfortable. Whether you’ve lost or left a job, become a new mother, buried a loved one, divorced a spouse, found yourself with an empty nest, or been diagnosed with an illness, you’re likely to find yourself feeling constricted, at least at first.

You gut feels tight. Your heart hurts. You curl into a ball. You shrink. It’s like a mini-death.

You mourn the loss of your former self, letting go of your identity as Mrs. Such-and-Such, or the mother of [insert your child’s name], or the expert in [insert your job title here], or the healthy being you were before your illness. You must say goodbye to a part of yourself that will never be the same again. You are irrevocably changed -- whether you like it or not.

And even if that change is a positive one, it’s likely to hurt.

via owningpink.com