Upheaval is more than just crisis

There are phases in life when everything seems to be in flux. Times when an important building block of life breaks away, without clarity about what comes next. Many people call this a crisis. I call it the in-between.

The In-Between – A Place Without a Name

...where the old fades and the new has yet to be named. A space emerges that is often difficult to bear alone. No solid ground beneath one's feet, but also no new shore in sight.

This very interim period has been described in anthropology as a liminal phase – a term coined by the ethnologist Arnold van Gennep and later further developed by Victor Turner . It refers to a transitional state: the old order has dissolved, the new one not yet established.

In traditional cultures, this is often accompanied by rituals – rites of passage that provide support and structure. Today, we often have to navigate this transitional state alone.

Upheaval has many faces

A radical change doesn't always announce itself. It can be triggered by many things, such as illness, the loss of a loved one, burnout, a forced career change, the end of a relationship, a move, the transition to retirement, financial problems, or interpersonal conflicts.

However different these triggers may be, they often have something in common: they force us to confront ourselves. They unleash intense emotions – fear, grief, anger, sometimes even relief. And they often pose the big questions: Who am I when what has defined me until now is no longer there? What truly matters to me now?

The crisis as a starting point

A phase that is often painful, but can also be a valuable starting point for real change . A period of upheaval, in particular, sometimes forces us to be honest with ourselves in a way that may not have been necessary or even possible in our familiar surroundings.

Many people, in retrospect, describe their most difficult periods in life as the most important turning points. This is because, triggered by these crises, they began to honestly confront many issues and themselves.

What really helps in this phase

From my experience – as a coach and as a person – I know: The answers are already there, but are often buried under fear, time pressure, or the loud voices of others.

What helps in this phase is not superficial advice, not a quick fix. Rather, it is:

• a space where one's own thoughts can be expressed without being judged

• Someone who helps to make one's own inner voice audible again when it has been silenced by stress.

• the courage to keep starting anew – even if the next step is not yet entirely clear

Each step in this process brings more clarity. And each new beginning strengthens confidence in one's own ability to master the next in-between stage.