Has Becoming an Adult Thrown Your World Upside Down?
Are you feeling lost in life? Is the transition into adulthood more confusing than you thought it would be? Deep down, do you feel like you don’t know who you are anymore?
Maybe you’re a young person who wants to be completely self-reliant, but a part of you still feels dependent on your parents. Perhaps you’re somewhat of a dreamer and you long to try new things, but fear holds you back. As much as you want to be more adventurous, you find yourself rarely leaving your comfort zone. You may tell yourself: Why can’t I just loosen up and go after what I want? Why are all my friends getting on with life while I’m still stuck?
It’s Hard To Identify What’s Important To You As A Young Adult
When you’re transitioning into adulthood, it’s not always easy to identify your wants and needs. You may not feel grounded in your beliefs or confident in who you are. When other people ask what you want, you may have a habit of telling them “Whatever you want,” because you’d rather please others than say how you feel.
Over time, these people-pleasing tendencies can get in the way of your relationships. Perhaps you feel resentful toward family and friends because you feel like your needs are not being met. You may have trouble making friends and spend most of your time at home with family instead. Maybe you’re shy at work and have difficulty asserting yourself.
If you want to increase your confidence and feel more grounded in your identity, we encourage you to contact us. Here at Life Catalyst Therapy & Coaching, we have lots of experience helping young adults learn new skills for coping with life transitions. We are confident that we can do the same for you.
Young People Today Face Increasing Pressure To Have It All Together
Everyone finds themselves at a crossroads at different points in life. Sometimes life changes are exciting—a wedding, a new job, or a graduation. However, even the best changes can bring new stressors and come with difficult emotions. Learning to be flexible and adapt to unfamiliar circumstances can feel overwhelming.
The most volatile and unpredictable time of life for many people is early adulthood. Young people have to navigate an increasingly complicated world of college, work, and other responsibilities. Between mounting student loans, a frustrating job market and a stressful dating scene, it’s no wonder so many young adults seek therapy for anxiety and depression. Society throws a million curveballs their way and expects them to handle all of them flawlessly.
Young Adults Often Feel Torn Between Different Social Identities
One of the most confusing parts about being a young adult is developing an identity separate from family and friends. As much as you want to stake out on your own and make new friends, part of you may feel closely tied to your old friend group. And although you want to fit in and please others, you still want to be independent and don’t want to rely on other people for your happiness.
If this is how you feel, we would be honored to help you work through this confusing time of transition. Counseling is an opportunity to find your footing as an adult and develop a fuller sense of identity.
Young Adult Counseling Can Help You Navigate Life Transitions and Find Your Voice
When you are in touch with your own values, it’s easier to create a meaningful life and be more purposeful about what you do. Therapy can help you figure out what your values are. This is a chance to find your own voice. We will help you understand your feelings, be more authentic to who you are, and feel good about yourself regardless of whether or not other people approve of you.
What To Expect In Sessions
Together, you and your therapist will collaborate on an action plan to help you move toward value-directed behaviors. You will learn to make decisions based on what is important to you instead of what pleases others or seems to be the safest choice. Doing so can help you progressively build your confidence and step outside of your comfort zone.
In this way, young adult counseling is a process of deep self-exploration, but it has very practical benefits. Feeling more solid in your identity can help you act more decisively and communicate more effectively. You can learn to establish healthier boundaries, express contradictory opinions, and say no when you are uncomfortable with something. The goal is for you to be able to say, with courage, “This is who I am and I will stand strong in my identity no matter what.”
Tailoring Your Treatment Plan
One of the main approaches we draw from in young adult counseling is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). This approach is all about helping you challenge unhelpful thoughts and engage in more positive self-talk. By reframing the messages you tell yourself (e.g., “I am worthy” or “I am loveable”), you can feel more confident in who you are and make lasting changes to your behavior.
Additionally, we often use Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). The goal of ACT is twofold: to help you tolerate your feelings rather than try to escape them and choose your actions instead of acting automatically. You will learn to do what is meaningful to you even if it means confronting your fears and you don’t “feel” like doing it.
By learning to reframe negative beliefs and acting more deliberately and thoughtfully, you can get in touch with your emotions and clarify what you want from life. Once you know what direction to head in, it becomes easier to take steps to get to your destination.
You May Have Some Concerns About Young Adult Counseling…
I don’t need someone telling me what to do.
Our therapists have no agenda other than to help you reach the goals you’ve set. Counseling is a collaborative process that enables you to clarify your thoughts and feelings and take steps toward becoming the person you want to be.
I’m too embarrassed to tell anyone how I feel.
We all experience a wide range of thoughts and feelings, some of which are helpful and some of which get us caught up in more worry and sadness. There is nothing shameful about how you feel. Your young adult therapist will help you sort out your thoughts and feelings in a compassionate, nonjudgmental way, breaking down barriers of shame and helping you be more authentic to yourself.
What if I fail and this doesn’t work out?
We encourage you not to put too much pressure on yourself. Healing takes time. Therapy for young adults can help you set manageable goals for yourself. Generally speaking, we will start with very small steps and work up to larger ones as your confidence builds. In this way, therapy happens on your own timing—there is no right or wrong way to do it.
Become More In Touch With Your Values
If you find yourself wondering “who am I?” from time to time, we would be honored to help you find an answer. To begin the healing process, you can call our office manager or book your first appointment through the online scheduling portal.
