How to Support Your Mental Health During Major Life Shifts
Each month in my free newsletter, I share an exclusive video answering a community question about holistic, intuitive, or intersectional healing.
This month, A Therapist Answers:
“I’m in the middle of a major life shift—new job, new city, no local connections yet. What steps can I take to support my mental health in the process?”
If your nervous system feels like it’s aflame, racing and raw, pause. Take a breath. That sensation isn’t who you are—it is your body speaking in the language of trauma. A system on high alert is a system responding to challenge, to change, to uncertainty. And yet, even amidst life’s tremors, even when the ground beneath feels unsteady, there is a path toward flow, grounded presence, and even ease.
This Month’s Question
One of my subscribers recently asked:
"I’m in the middle of a major life shift—new job, new city, no local connections yet. What steps can I take to support my mental health in the process? I’m really struggling."
I hear you. Deeply. As a survivor of domestic violence and C-PTSD, a mother navigating systemic discrimination in the educational system - even while being a school psychologist in that system myself - I know what it means to rebuild while the world feels like it’s falling apart. I know what it feels like to carry trauma in your body while attempting to step forward, one breath at a time.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and it also holds space for acknowledging Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD). C-PTSD is a condition not largely recognized in the U.S. medical system, although it is recognized in the world. This leaves us who have experienced repeated trauma - such as systemic oppression, racism, poverty, child abuse, and marginalization – still fighting for our experiences to be seen and validated, especially in the U.S.
So how do we care for our nervous systems and our souls while amidst the mounting pressure?
Listen Deeply to Your Energy
Major life shifts often come hand-in-hand with spiritual growth. The universe is constantly co-creating with us, but for those of us who are highly sensitive or empathic, it can be difficult to distinguish our energy from the energy of those around us.
The first step is reconnecting with your own essence. Spend time alone in nature—by the ocean, under the trees, or anywhere the world is quiet enough for you to hear that still, calm knowing within. This is where you can discern your deepest desires and your truth, beyond what others expect or what society dictates. Ask yourself: What do I truly desire in my heart? Am I moving forward out of alignment with my soul’s purpose, or am I stepping into my life from a place of fear or obligation?
Even in chaos, your inner knowing is the compass that points toward rest, direction, or bold action. Learning to trust ourselves is foundational to navigating life’s upheavals.
Embody Your Energy
Empaths and sensitives carry more than their own energy; we navigate currents we may not consciously see. One way to anchor in self-awareness is to explore your energetic blueprint. I personally integrate astrology as a therapeutic tool, a way to understand the energies we are called to inhabit and the rhythms of our soul’s growth.
Your Rising Sign reflects the energy you project into the world. Your North Node illuminates your soul’s trajectory. Your Sixth House, in addition to your daily routines, can shed light on the patterns of resistance you encounter.
This is not divination—it is observation, awareness, and alignment. When you learn the energy you are meant to embody it supports your identity development and helps you create an internal cohesion that safeguards against chaos.
Tend to Your Subconscious Thoughts
Intrusive thoughts and heightened nervous system responses are common during major life shifts. Rather than fighting these thoughts, hold them with compassion. Notice what subconscious beliefs or internalized narratives give rise to these painful thoughts. Healing is not perfection—it’s about creating an internal environment of love, safety, and acceptance within.
Furthermore, know that the love and truth needed to transform intrusive narratives live within your inner self. Healing is a gentle alchemy—detoxing naturally stirs triggers - content that we are ready to see, feel, and move through. Allow these thoughts to rise into your awareness, holding them in love rather than pushing them away. As you begin to witness each trigger as not just pain but a doorway to healing, and as your nervous system feels safe enough, you can step into the sacred work of weaving together heart, mind, body, and spirit—integrating all that you are to heal and restore your psyche.
Regulate Your Nervous System
Your body holds the key to feeling safe and supported, even amidst external uncertainty. Practices that cultivate regulation—gentle movement, grounding, breathwork, connecting with someone you trust—teach your nervous system that safety is possible.
When your body knows calm, your mind and emotions can follow. Healing becomes tangible, actionable, and restorative.
Healing as Resistance
Healing is not a passive act. For those of us navigating intersecting identities and systemic oppression, it is revolutionary. Choosing to rest, to prioritize your joy, to exist fully in the world is an act of reclamation.
Even as the towers of capitalism, patriarchy, and colonization fall, remember: your vibrance is an antidote to erasure. Your presence is activism. Your care for your nervous system is rebellion. Your rest is radical.
For Those Navigating Life Shifts
I offer Concierge Integrative Holistic Therapy and Intuitive Healing Sessions, designed for intersectional sensitives and empaths navigating complex life transitions. You can learn more or schedule a free 15-minute consultation.
Your healing matters. You matter.
✨ Your health is resistance. Your rest is power. Your healing is revolutionary.