What Is The Psychological Impact Of Moving?

Packing up all your belongings and moving to a new city is a huge undertaking. Apart from taking care of the operations and logistics, it takes a huge toll on your mental health.

Humans define themselves by the place they live in, and it amounts to most of our personalities. You need to know the psychological impact of moving and how to deal with it. It can be best understood by comparing it to the different stages of grief.

●Shock
●Denial
●Anger
●Bargaining
●Depression
●Acceptance

Everyone is unique, and you might not exhibit all the stages, but the general guideline stays constant for everyone. Here’s what you can be prepared for.

Shock
The first time you realise that you will have to move will always come as a shock. The information is too much to process, and we don’t understand the gravity of the situation. Even if the move was your decision and fueled by positive motives, you will still feel a hint of shock.

Denial
After some time, you will finally understand reality and everything it entails. Similar to an ostrich burying its head in the ground to protect itself from danger, we go in denial about shocking news and experiences. You will convince yourself that this move is not happening or that the plans will change at any moment, and it is only a bad dream.

Anger
Anger is probably the most common emotion humans show and experience. Once the effect of denial wears off, you will experience red hot rage. You will be angry at the people who are supposedly responsible for the move, the situation and yourself. There is no logic to it. You simply have to find healthy ways to deal with the anger and give yourself time to cool down.

Bargaining
Bargaining is a complicated response that lies somewhere between anger and denial. You will try rationalising certain aspects of the move and trying to reach a middle ground. For example, if your company has asked you to move for a job, you might talk to your manager and HR to try and come to a solution that doesn’t require displacing yourself.

Depression
This moment is the toughest to handle. You will finally give up on finding a solution and spiral into sadness. You will think about all the things you will lose and the people you will miss. Depression might intensify a few discomforts and make it unbearable to move.

Acceptance
After wallowing in pain for a while, you will finally experience the bliss of acceptance. Acceptance feels like a fresh breeze or a weight lifted off your chest. You might still be sad, but you will be able to face reality and become a stronger person.

The mental toll the moving process takes is enough to bring down a person. Contact us to take care of all the operations and logistics and make your life easier.