We are approaching the end of the school year, and graduation and summer are around the corner. Some students will be starting new jobs, attending programs, and going to college. While every student’s experience will vary, change is a common factor in all of them.
Change is a natural part of life, but it can make people feel and react differently. When change happens, people are breaking away from their normal routine.
“When you are in a routine, there’s a safety in that…When something comes up that’s different [and] all of a sudden new, [it] could trigger your flight or fight response,” school psychologist Mr. Christopher Bennett said. “With routines comes certainty, and with that routine comes a feeling of comfort [because] you’ve been doing it 1000 times beforehand.”
According to behavioral health counselor Ms. Marlena O’Kane, change in schedule can cause physical effects on students.
“When your time schedule changes in the summer and you slow down a bit, you might feel a little bit differently,” O’Kane said. “You might be differently energized. You might be on different sleep patterns, different eating patterns, and that might impact you physically.”
Despite being different, change can be good. Bennett believes that change, such as graduating, can be positive when looking at it through the right perspective.
“[With graduating] from high school comes a lot of new opportunities, which can be exciting,” Bennett said. “You’re no longer going to classes every day, or early in the morning. If you’re going to college, you are doing classes, but you’re a lot more independent.”
Bennett also acknowledges that the independence that can come from graduation can be hard to deal with, as it is new.
“With meeting new people, and having a new schedule, and going to a different place, also comes some negatives in terms of, ‘Am I going to be able to meet the demands of this change?’” Bennett said. “‘Am I going to be able to take on these new responsibilities for myself?’”
Change can also mean leaving things behind or saying goodbye. According to research reported in Psychology Today, loss or deprivation can increase negative emotions, such as anxiety and anger. It can also affect how people think and process emotions.
Behavioral health counselor Ms. Kate Sargent agrees that change can impact the way people feel.
“Humans are wired for connection,” Sargent said. “When our connections change, like when we say goodbye to something or hello to something, it can bring up a different range of emotions.”
According to Sargent, if someone is upset about a situation, their cortisol (a stress hormone), can cause negative physical reactions. But, there can also be positive reactions to change.
“We can feel a lot of physical things from [stress], like crying, maybe heavy fatigue, a change in appetite…If there’s excitement with [change], the hormones connected to connection and happiness, like dopamine, can also increase,” Sargent said.
Bennett shares the perspective, thinking that positive emotions and experiences can come from change, even negative changes.
“You transition from that mourning phase [of change] into that more hopefully excited phase of ‘I’m going to have new opportunities, new experiences for myself,’” Bennett said. “When one door closes, more doors open for yourself. With any change, whether it’s good or bad, comes good and bad things.”
Whether reactions are good or bad, O’Kane recommends keeping an object that can comfort people and remind them of previous routines and situations before change affected them, especially in the case of graduating seniors who are moving away from home.
“Take something with you. Find a memento. Find an activity…Take something that reminds you of home or of your community,” O’Kane said. “Bring a token with you that always helps you reflect on the time that you had someplace that really matters to you.”
