The transition from adolescence to adulthood comes with its own unique challenges. As a young adult it often feels like you are now, and all of a sudden, expected to have the rest of your life figured out. You are bombarded with questions like “What’s your plan?” “Have you found a partner yet?” “You still don’t have a job?” “You’re still in school?” “Why aren’t you in school?” Together we can determine authentic answers to those questions, answers you can feel good about. 

Over the last several years of working with early adulthood clients, I have come to discover a unique experience of this time in life. Often, clients in their early and mid twenties express feelings of loss, sometimes even describing what sounds like grief or mourning. What I believe to be happening is the unexpected collision of fantasy and reality. We often spend our childhoods imagining what our adult lives will look like; what college we will attend, what career we will have, will we marry, have kids, pets etc.

We spend much of our early years planning out how our later years will be. What often happens is that our lives, our realities, don’t measure up to our imagined experiences and we are left mourning our fantasies. The trick is to not get stuck in the loss and to instead learn how to use your new-found knowledge of the world in a way that propels you forward. Learn to reframe the loss of fantasy as a growth opportunity and reestablish what you want out of your life.