ABSTRACT
First, it must be said that transition states are nearly always uncomfortable. Whenever we plan for change, be it a change of job, or house, an aspect of our life-style, or even a material possession such as a car, we undergo a process of parting from the familiar and of anticipating the future. In doing this we need actively to loosen our hold on the past, to untie ourselves as it were from the bonds that hold us secure to the shores of our previous experience, and to prepare for the journey to the new land. Transition states are preparation states; we do not know exactly what the future experience will be nor how well we shall respond. Our preparations therefore become a series of hypothetical rehearsals. We anticipate by imagining ourselves in many possible settings and literally
rehearse our new parts. We must distance ourselves from the roles we have so far played in our familiar settings, on our previous stages. In so doing we may need, for a time, to reject or disparage those we are leaving behind.
