The "Change" phenomenon

One thing I've noticed with an increasing number of females is this strange tendency to change nearly everything at once. For instance, around the time her parents were getting divorced, my girlfriend at the time decided she was going to break up with me, cut her hair, dye her hair, rearrange her room, change her wardrobe, sever all ties with her best friend since childhood, even change her favorite TV shows. Then she moved a little while later - not far away, but still a change.

Another one, which contradicts my theory that the divorce may have been an emotional motive, is with a coworker of mine. She did basically all the same things, without the parents' divorce, and moved 400 miles away from her home.

My questions are thus: have you observed this? Have you DONE this? Have you observed this in males as well? What do you think prompts this drastic rearranging of one's life, as it were - emotionally or otherwise? Let's get some insight, if at all possible.

How ya doing, buddy?