Here’s something you already know, moving is stressful! From the pressure of packing, changes to finances, figuring out new routes to work, remembering to change your address, updating contacts and everything else it’s no wonder it ranks consistently as one of the top 10 most stressful life events.

Moving is exciting and presents new opportunities. You could be moving to a new city, province, or even country. It could be for a new job, major life event or to be closer to family. Whatever the reason and wherever you’re moving, you will feel a number of emotions and increased stress. You could feel anxiety about the new job you’ll be taking, or being in a new neighbourhood or city that you don’t feel comfortable in. Even the layout of your new home is going to be different which could lead to anxiety and bring up a lot of different feelings. Not to mention the financial stress you might be feeling given the costs of the move.

If you’re generally a happy, upbeat and positive person it’s likely you’ll still feel some stress given all of the changes. Just the process of moving will bring stress, you’ll find yourself having to use downtime after work to pack and plan. This will eventually lead to feelings of exhaustion and lead to being physically tired. 

Amidst all the change and what needs to be done physically to make a move, there’s going to be some major emotional things coming up for everyone too. Moving is disruptive, it uproots us and depending on how long you’ve been in the home you’re selling, it can represent a MAJOR life shake up. Even if you’ve been planning or talking about making a move for a while, there’s still going to be surprises for you when it becomes official.

The emotional surprises aka feelings you’re going to have will be significant and here’s three things you can do to help manage emotions and move on in a healthy and happy way:

  1. Breathe: It’s a basic human function, but sometimes when we’re under high stress we forget to do the most basic things because everything feels overwhelming. One of the best ways to beat stress is to sit down, close your eyes, and take deep breathes. Deep breathing helps regulate the parasympathetic nervous system and can be just what you need between packing boxes and feeling stressed out by your move. I recommend breathing in for 4 seconds, holding your breathe for 4 seconds and then slowly exhaling for 4 seconds. Doing this 4 times in a row will have you feeling lighter and more comfortable. I’m speaking from experience when I say that doing some deep breathing helps take the edge off and calm the nerves.
  2. Listen: It’s going to be important to listen to your kids as they process their emotions. They’re likely to feel sad, excited, nervous, happy and all at the same time! Be sure to ask them why they’re feeling like they are and then listen to what they say. Acknowledge their feelings and tell them it’s completely normal to feel what they’re feeling but that everything will be ok. A good analogy is to talk to them about how the seasons change during the year and remind them that moving is like changing seasons. They might feel sad and nervous right now, but when they decorate their new room and start making friends in the neighbourhood they’re going to feel really happy. Just as it’s important to listen to your kids, be sure to listen to your own feelings too and share them with your partner or a close friend. It’s therapeutic and helpful to talk about things instead of keeping them inside. Share your fears and excitements. Share why you feel that way. But also remind yourself that it’s a season and before you know it you’ll be moved into your new home and worry will be replaced with excitement and joy!
  3. Relax: There’s no shortage of things to do when it comes to moving. From packing to changing addresses to setting up transfer of utilities and other services there’s a long ‘to-do’ list. Amidst all the things to do it’s going to be critical to take some time for you and relax. That could be as simple as taking a few hours one night to sit and watch Netflix. Or having a bath. For others it will be reading a book or going for a run. What’s important amongst the chaos of moving is to be selfish and take some personal time for you to fill your own bucket. A lot of people try to do everything to please everybody, but if you don’t take time to relax and recharge your own batteries you risk increasing your feelings of nervousness, worry and anxiety.

These three things might seem ‘basic’ or ‘simple’, but sometimes the best results come from doing the simple things in life. When you’re moving you want simple and basic because there’s enough going on already. By breathing, listening and relaxing during the process you’re going to feel more peace and calm. These things will help you enjoy the moving process instead of cursing it.

If you’re looking to buy or sell your home, feel free to contact me and let’s make it happen.

Have an amaZing day!

People First. Homes second. 

Garrett Zimmerman

Realtor

403.506.5795