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Article

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

07-05-2009

The David Bowie classic hints at the challenges posed by demands for change. He is supported by psychiatric research.

Studies in the 80’s in California and the UK followed large communities of normal people by asking them to diarise events in their lives, then interviewing them to monitor their psychological responses.

Something any GP could tell you was demonstrated. When certain types of “life events” occur, people are more likely to develop psychological or physical problems.

The most “toxic” life events were “change events”; change in place of abode, change in work place, change in employment status, change in financial status, change in marital status (either way), change in parental status etc, etc.

Humans tend to be creatures of habit. If we videoed your routine for getting ready for work for instance, it would be very similar today to what it was 6 months ago. It is more efficient not to have to “work out” how to best do routine activities every time we do them. We are attracted to a world which is predictable, rather than one characterised by ongoing chaos. This is why “change” events present a challenge.

For the sake of illustration, think of working in your current position, but in Rome rather than in Australia. New city, new language, new culture, new currency. Get the picture?

Models have been developed to try to understand how humans adapt to change. Some look at the process of “letting go” of the previous situation, and grieving its loss (with the usual mixture of sadness, confusion, then some anger and resentment). This is followed by a period when the merits of the new or novel situation are brought to mind and this replaces feelings of loss. Anyone who has bought a new car will realise how quickly this process takes place.

Another interesting model is one used by people working with addictions. Recovering from an addiction is, as much as anything, modifying behaviour. Changing the way we act involves a few “phases”. The pre-contemplation phase is where there is no consideration given to changing the way things are. We are just rolling along in the current mode. The contemplative phase is where we start thinking about the costs and benefits of maintaining the status quo versus changing it. After time, with the right information and active thought, the beginnings of a plan start to hatch. This results in a plan for action (the action phase), where a time is set and a specific plan is put into motion. This is followed by the so-called “maintenance phase” where the desired changes are re-enforced in some way, ideally rewarded somehow. So-called “relapse” can occur during this phase ie. falling back into previous modes of behaviour (and in the case of addictions it happens in 80% of people). This is followed by entering the cycle at one of the previous phases to move towards “maintenance” again. After a prolonged period of maintenance of change, people are described as being in remission.

You will notice a lot of yourself in these phases of change eg. the decision to change career will require some serious thought and consideration. A plan to do so will often include the necessity for specific training and the details of how and where to do this. The financial planning will need to be undertaken to enable you to live and support your family while this is occurring. Then comes the search for a specific position. Once in the new job, the rewards of the career (eg. improved job satisfaction, improved income) act as reinforcers of the change.

In the current global financial situation the change might well be out of our control. The change I am referring to is in employment status ie. losing your job.

The main issue here is the SPEED OF THE CHANGE. This means that all the psychological processes I have spoken about have to be likewise SPED UP. This doesn’t mean less care, but it does mean less navel gazing.

Guidelines for Dealing with Sudden Retrenchment

Figure out what you CAN and CAN’T change. You will soon notice that the only things you can change have to do with your responses. Don’t waste time on stuff out of your control.
Accept a degree of anger and loss about this. Also accept some anxiety about the future. It is, after all, suddenly less predictable. These feelings are normal. It helps to talk about them with someone you trust.
Assess your skill set. Think about new career options, especially if one had been “on your mind” for a while. Now might provide the ideal opportunity to look at re-training.
Watch out for “future tripping”. This is about ruminating over “worse case scenarios”. It is normal, but is toxic psychologically. Recognise it and replace these thoughts with those in the “here and now”.
Each day develop a list of things to do, usually no more than 5 or so. If you do the list later in the day your brain will work on them over night.
Pay attention to your important relationships. The support of others is vital when going through periods of change.
Look after your physical health. There might even be more time to devote to regular exercise. Beware of drugs and alcohol. The benefits (short term) are far outweighed by the costs.
Review your finances. Simplify life as much as possible and make whatever adaptations are needed in this area.
You will notice everything so far involves physical or mental activity. This is the key. The essence of response to change is to see it as controlled by YOU (this is the so-called internal locus of control). Change is more toxic psychologically when we feel it is imposed upon us (an external locus of control). To become ACTIVE restores the sense of control to an internal locus.

I have only addressed one aspect of many possible changes that can occur during the human life cycle. The issue of unemployment is particularly topical in view of the current financial situation.

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