Source: <https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/why-changes-are-hard/>

# Why changes are hard?

*From the book – Chapter 29: Workplace and Academic Stress*

## Why changes are hard

Even positive changes bring stress. Our brains like predictability.
Big transitions can shake our identity and routines. Common ones
include:

-

Starting school or a new job

-

Moving to a new city or country

-

Relationship changes (marriage, separation, divorce)

-

Becoming a parent

-

Children leaving home

-

Illness or disability

-

Retirement

-

Bereavement

[Read the full chapter – Chapter 29: Workplace and Academic Stress](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/chapter/29/)

## Stories from real life

- [The Night Before the Board Exam](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-night-before-the-board-exam-119/) – Ishaan, sixteen, in Kota, had been studying fourteen hours a day for months. His parents had sold a plot of land for his coaching fees. A…
- [The Inbox That Never Ends](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-inbox-that-never-ends-120/) – Anjali, thirty-six, a team lead at a Chennai company, took on every request. She worked late, answered messages at dawn and skipped leave for two years.…
- [The Boss Who Humiliated](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-boss-who-humiliated-121/) – Ravi, twenty-eight, a junior analyst in Mumbai, was shouted at in meetings by his senior, who mocked his accent and left him out of emails. It…
- [The Day the Letter Came](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-day-the-letter-came-122/) – Hassan, forty-five, worked at a firm in Birmingham after moving from Syria. He lost his job in a restructuring. He felt shock, then anger, then shame.…

More on this topic: [Stress – causes, symptoms and how to reduce stress at work and in exams](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/topic/stress/)

## More questions

- [Moving to a new country (migration) – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/moving-to-a-new-country-migration-life-transitions/)
- [Becoming a parent – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/becoming-a-parent-life-transitions/)
- [Chronic illness and disability – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/chronic-illness-and-disability-life-transitions/)
- [Caring for others – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/caring-for-others-life-transitions/)
- [Retirement and later life – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/retirement-and-later-life-life-transitions/)
- [Money and mental health – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/money-and-mental-health-life-transitions/)
- [Resilience in uncertain times – life transitions](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/resilience-in-uncertain-times-life-transitions/)
- [What is true: short-term exam stress…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-short-term-exam-stress/)
- [What is true: burnout is closest to…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-burnout-is-closest-to/)
- [What is true: A positive workplace in your list includes…?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-true-a-positive-workplace-in-your-list-includes/)
- [How to reduce stress – healthy ways that work](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-to-reduce-stress/)
- [What is burnout and how do you recover?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-burnout/)

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