Oscillating imbalances: responding to the existentials in major life transitions

Abstract

This paper presents a novel conceptual frame for understanding and talking about the existential aspects of life transitions, such as marital separations, undertaking a recovery process and major losses. The first key concept, finitude, refers to the many ways we as individuals are bounded and constrained by life circumstances. The second concept, transcendence, refers to those activities we engage in that take us beyond our finite, constrained existence. The third concept, equilibrium, refers to the ongoing state of balance we seek to maintain between the conflicting forces of finitude and transcendence. The lives of three composite characters are used to illustrate how major transitions disrupt this equilibrium and, in some cases, trigger oscillating imbalances that are very difficult to step away from. Their situations are presented in a style which highlight the inner dilemmas faced in major life transitions. What practitioners can do in helping to restore and maintain a re-established equilibrium is also discussed.

Keywords:

• existential
• transitions
• recovery
• addiction
• grief
• adjustment

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter J. Adams

Peter J. Adams has been trained initially as a clinical psychologist and has practiced in hospital, community and private practice settings for over 13 years. In the last 25 years, he has worked at the University of Auckland with research interests in social theory, family impacts of addictions, industry conflicts of interest and public health approaches to gambling. He is employed as a professor and deputy head of the School of Population Health and an associate director of the Centre of Addiction Research. He has published three sole-authored books. Gambling, Freedom and Democracy (Routledge, 2007), Fragmented Intimacy: Addiction in a Social World (Springer, 2008), Masculine Empire: How Men Use Violence to Keep Women in Line (Dunmore, 2012) and Moral Jeopardy: Risks of Accepting Money from the Tobacco, Alcohol and Gambling Industries (Cambridge, 2016). Address: School of Population Health, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand. [email: [email protected]].