How to Cope With Emotional Overload When Moving Home

In this week’s home moving blog, we look at how to cope with emotional overload when moving home.

• What is Emotional Overload
• How to Manage Emotional Overload When Moving Home

Moving home is an emotional rollercoaster full of incredible happiness, excitement, apprehension, sadness, stress, anxiety, and even depression.

It is such a huge event that our minds become overrun with so many emotions that it eventually becomes unbearable.

We become so overwhelmed that we cease to function in a logical way and eventually cease to function at all.

So, to overcome the emotional stress of moving home we need a strategy, not only for the physical home move, but more importantly a strategy for coping with our state of mind.

What is Emotional Overload?

Emotional overload is the result of having too many different feelings all happening at once and you are unable to process them individually.

Much like if you have too many tasks to do it can be difficult to know where to start, and which task should get priority. And often that results in not starting at all, so the tasks just keep piling up.

It is exactly the same with your emotions.

Then we become stressed because of all that we are faced with and the feeling of being overwhelmed and stressed just multiplies itself.

It becomes an ever-growing vicious circle.

You may like to read: How to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle During a Home Move. It is easy to let our healthy lifestyle slip when there is just so much going on in our lives. But maintaining our healthy lifestyle is essential for our physical and mental well-being. Find some great practical tips in this invaluable guide.

How to Manage Emotional Overload Moving Home

It may not feel like it right now, but the good news is, emotions do not exist.

If we understand and recognise that emotions only exist within our mind, that we create them ourselves, then we can control those feelings.

There is nothing, nobody, which can make you stressed or overwhelmed, only your mind can make you feel that way.

If we are generally happy and in control of our lives then a certain situation will not be stressful, it may just be a mere inconvenience.

However, if we have lots going on, a head full of different emotions, then that same situation can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

So if we can train ourselves to handle our feelings then it would not be possible to become overwhelmed.

That may sound a bit woo, but it is possible to control our emotions using simple methods.

#1 Learn to Breathe

How often have we been told in an almost lighthearted way to ‘breathe’ in a stressful situation? But it really does work.

The key is not to take deep breaths but to control your breathing in a smooth and even way. So, breathe naturally but in a controlled fashion. Breathe in for a count of 4, hold for a count of 4, and then breathe out slowly for a count of 4. Repeat and repeat. It really will help calm you.

#2 Make Some You Time

It may seem counterproductive to take time away from all that needs doing but it will help you see things more clearly.

A stroll in the park, taking a long hot bath, or reading a book in the garden for a couple of hours will help refresh both your body and mind.

It is essential that you get rest when you need it and plenty of sleep. If you are run-down and exhausted there is no way you are going to function effectively.

Ensure that you maintain a healthy diet and get plenty of fresh air which will ensure that your body and mind get the fuel they need.

And don’t forget the power of communication. Talk through your emotions, you will not be alone in these feelings, and often getting your feelings out and having a conversation about how you feel can do wonders.

Keeping a journal is a useful emotional outlet, especially if you don’t have family or friends that you can talk to. Just writing down how you feel can be a sweet release. If you can acknowledge your emotions then you can take the steps to control and overcome them.

#3 Pare Down the To-Do List

Now you are refreshed mentally and physically it is time to face that home-moving checklist. And if you don’t have a home moving checklist and calendar yet that is probably one of the reasons why you are overwhelmed.

A home moving checklist and calendar show what needs doing and when.

At first, that checklist is going to seem never-ending and it will be difficult to understand how that could possibly help you.

The trick is to eliminate all the tasks that do not apply to your move, identify the tasks that you are and are not capable of performing, and then which tasks you can delegate.

Then approach each day at a time. Do not look at the list in its entirety, just know what you need to do today and get that task finished.

You may also like to read: How to Not Get Overwhelmed with a Home Moving Checklist. Practical steps to take to make your home moving checklists tailored to your own home move and therefore make them far more manageable.

#4 Delegate

The more tasks that you can delegate to somebody else the easier the home move is going to be on you, both physically and mentally.

If you have the finances to hire a full-service removal company then the stress and worry of packing, loading, and unloading is over because they will do all that for you.

If you are moving by yourself then identify the tasks that friends and family can help with. That does not necessarily have to be packing or moving tasks, they could help make your life easier by looking after the kids, cooking some meals, or running some errands.

You may also like to read: 22 Really Helpful Ways to Help a Friend Move Home. There are lots of ways people can help when you are moving home. Here are 22 ways that do not involve packing or moving furniture but will make your home move far easier for you.

#5 Take Time to Detach Emotionally from Your Old Home

So now we have a manageable home moving checklist, we are taking one day at a time, and we have delegated as much as we can.

We should be feeling far more in control and our stress levels should be dropping.

So, now we can manage the emotion of leaving a home that we have known and loved for years. This can be one of the hardest parts of moving home.

Make a list of all the reasons why this home does not meet your needs, what is wrong with it, and how moving will improve your quality of life. But also focus on how happy you have been there, the memories you have created, and how you made it your own special sanctuary.

It is important to recognize that this home was integral in helping make great memories, but the house was a venue, it is the people within that made it so special. Just as you will your new home.

You may also like to read: How to Move Out of a Home You Love. There are some great ideas in this post to help you cherish the memories of your old home but also to help you let go, to look forward to the future in your new home and all the wonderful times yet to come.

#6 Manage the Uncertainty

New house, new neighbourhood, new neighbours, new job, new schools. Everything is about to change and the emotions that triggers can not only manifest themselves as fear but also as uncertainty.

The fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of whether you are doing the right thing is only natural, everybody has these feelings.

The trick is to turn that fear and uncertainty into a catalyst to make the move work.

Have a list of all the great reasons for moving home, all the amazing places to discover, how much better the schools are, how there are far more job opportunities, how you won’t have to put up with noisy neighbours anymore, and that your life will be better in so many ways.

Take the time to discover your new area as a tourist, look for all the quaint places, the amazing views, and the best coffee shops or music venues, and seek out all the local places of interest and museums.

Unpack as quickly as you can so that you have familiar things around you, and make the new place into a home that you feel safe and comfortable in which will help stave off relocation depression.

Once you start experiencing all the benefits of your new home and area then the uncertainty will become a long lost memory.

Fear is another emotion that we create within ourselves. We dwell on the negative what-ifs rather than the great new opportunities to be part of a new community, learn about new cultures, and make some amazing new friends.

You may also like to read: What is the Fear of Moving Home and How to Overcome It. In this post, we offer some practical tips on dealing with not only the fear of moving home, and the fear of what the new neighbours will be like, but also of leaving your friends, family, and support network behind.

Finally, it is easier to manage your emotions when you are not tired or in the middle of a home move.

So start not only your home moving preparations at the earliest opportunity but start looking after yourself well before any emotional overload begins.

If you can adopt a healthy routine with regular exercise, healthy eating, and making time to relax and unwind you will be in far better mental and physical condition to deal with moving home.

Most people have enough to do in their day-to-day lives with enough stress already and adding a home move to the mix can be totally overwhelming.

It is worth repeating that delegating as much of the home move as you can will make things so much easier, and though removal companies are not cheap, in the scheme of things they will be the best money you spend during this move.

No amount of money saved is worth the stress and physical hardship of trying to do something that you do not have the physical or mental capacity to deal with.

If you need some practical advice about moving home then be sure to visit our home moving blog where you will find helpful guides for every aspect of your home move.

Good luck with your home move. You got this.