Moving can be genuinely stressful, even when it’s a move you want, so if you’re feeling it, that’s normal. But it isn’t the very top of the list: on a long-standing research scale of life events, a change of home scores well below losing a husband or wife, divorce or a serious illness.
What the research says
You’ll often hear that moving ranks alongside bereavement and divorce. One long-standing way to compare them is a scale Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe published in 1967, which gives 43 life events a score. Death of a spouse scores 100, divorce 73 and a major personal injury or illness 53. A change in residence scores 20, and a major change in living conditions, such as a new home, 25.
So moving sits in the middle of the list rather than at the top. The scale also adds events together, and a move can arrive with other changes, like a new job, a new school or taking on a mortgage (31 on the same scale). It’s that pile-up that can make a move feel so heavy.
Why it can feel so hard anyway
The Mental Health Foundation explains that stress is often triggered when we face something new or unexpected, or when we feel we have little control over a situation. It also points out that even positive changes, such as moving to a bigger house, can be sources of stress.
That fits moving well. Much of it is out of your hands: the chain, the completion date, the other people’s timetable. So it helps to take firm hold of the parts you can control.
Ways to take some control back
- Make one list and put everything on it, so it’s out of your head.
- Start packing the things you won’t need, like books, out-of-season clothes and the spare room, weeks before the move.
- Decide early what you’re keeping, selling or giving away, so you only move what you want.
- Have a plan for the gap. If your completion date slips or the new place isn’t ready, knowing where your furniture will go removes one big unknown.
That last one is where we can help. A storage unit gives your things somewhere secure to wait while the dates settle. Our minimum stay is two weeks, standard access is 6am to 10pm seven days a week, and when you’re ready to leave, normally all we need is 14 days’ notice.
If the stress doesn’t ease after the move, the Mental Health Foundation suggests talking to your doctor about how you’re feeling.
When you’re ready, you can get a price online or call us on 0800 2545585, and we’ll help you plan the gap.
Related questions
- What actually happens between exchange and completion
- Self storage between houses: when the chain slips
- Should I store furniture, sell it or give it away?
Further reading
- Mental Health Foundation: Stress