How to Overcome the Anxiety About Moving Out and Conquer the Fear of Leaving the Known

What Are Anxious Disorders and How to Cope With Them

Before we start about mechanisms for coping with fear, let’s talk more about what anxious feelings are and how to recognize them. Feeling anxious is when you have obsessive thoughts and intense feelings of fear about some situations, which overwhelms you and makes you unable to do anything. Feeling anxious is perfectly normal, and everybody has felt this at least once in their lifetime. However, once these feelings occur on a daily basis, and you have trouble controlling them, then it is considered to be a disorder. Here are the most common disorders of this kind

• General disorder – When you are feeling nervous, restless, and worry about doing everyday common things.
• Panic disorder – When you feel intense fear or terror that can reach a peak in minutes. The symptoms include chest pain and shortness of breath.
• Social disorder – When you worry about interacting in social situations due to fear of embarrassment or concerns of being judged negatively by others.
• Specific phobias – When you experience fear and anxious feelings about doing something specific or touching some objects.

What Are Most Common Symptoms of Anxiety

When you feel anxious, you can experience both physical and emotional symptoms, and knowing how to recognize some of them can be of tremendous help in your coping. Because, for starters, if you don’t know how to recognize a problem, how are you going to fix it? And if you are feeling bad for a longer period, you should seek medical help. Here are some symptoms you need to keep an eye on:

• Feeling nervous,
• Restlessness,
• Tension,
• Panic or a sense of imminent danger,
• Increased heart rate,
• Breathing rapidly,
• Sweating,
• Trembling,
• Feeling weak or tired,
• Having trouble with concentrating,
• Obsessive thinking about present concerns,
• Having trouble sleeping,
• Difficulty in controlling worrying.

Is It Normal to Be Nervous About Moving Out?

No matter what your reasons to move, changing surroundings is always hard. Your feelings about relocating to another state alone will be all mixed up with stress about organizing everything and with anxious feelings about living on your own. But these feelings are normal. Relocating to another state is stressful, and even if you are relocating for love, you will feel some nostalgia and homesickness. But if you start looking at this relocation from a positive side, you will start feeling better and even see some of the benefits of long-distance moving. For example, if you are buying your first home, make a new apartment checklist and start thinking about organizing your place.

Anxiety About Moving Out for the First Time – Fear of New Surroundings

Why do we feel anxiety about moving out of state? Well, the answer is simple – it’s because we all experience fear and nervousness about the unknown and about changing and leaving the things we know. The greatest fear about relocating comes from uncertainties and unpredictability about new chapters in your life. You don’t know what your area is going to be like. Will you meet some people and friends? Will you enjoy your job? Will you have enough money to support this decision? All these questions are probably running through your head, and it may comfort you to hear that you are not the only one going through this situation. We tend to stick to familiar stuff because we feel more comfortable if we are in control and know what to expect. But if you focus on the positive side of your relocation, you can overcome this fear. For example, if you don’t know the answer to a question, “How do I cope with moving out for the first time?” you should focus on the reasons why you wanted this to happen in the first place.

Anxiety About Moving Out – How to Help Yourself

The big question is this – “How do I mentally prepare to move out?” Like in every major change in your life, you need to think through why you want a change. Do you need a place to live on your own? Are you ready to leave the nest? Or maybe you are relocating for a big career opportunity. Either way, if you measure the pros and cons, you will feel more comfortable about your decision. So, create a list of reasons to do this, and the answer will present itself much more clearly.

Say to Your Friends and Family What Is Bothering You

If you experience some doubts and restlessness about your relocation, you should talk about this with your family and friends, especially if you are long-distance moving. Their support in this decision will help you to make an easier transition. And not only will they support you emotionally, but they can also assist with other relocation processes like finding a job in a new city. Also, you will need their help with preparing your home for sale, finding reputable cross-country movers for long-distance moving services, or even packing fragile items. Either way, their experience will help you to overcome all the issues related to relocation.

Bring With You All the Good Things From a Place You Leave Behind

Why do I feel the anxiety about moving out of my parents’ house, you might ask. It’s, after all, a lifetime of memories. One of the big stressors on every relocation is dealing with your stuff. You will have to decide what to keep and what to throw away. And deciding which memories to leave behind can cause you to feel nostalgia and fear. But if you organize your move in a way that you have some space and a long period to go through your belongings, your decision-making will be much easier. Go room by room and start making a household inventory list. This will be a list of items you will bring with you. If you have any items you don’t have the heart to get rid of, but your place is too small for these items, you can always rent a storage facility and decide about them later on. In fact, once you distance yourself from all your stuff, you will only keep items that are truly important to you.

Build a Network of Friends

Keep your old friends close to you but try to find some new ones as well. It is important to make a circle of support when you are alone in a new place, especially if anxious feeling overwhelms you. If that happens, it would be good if you can force yourself to meet some people. Finding friends at a certain age can maybe cause even more anxious feelings, but there are ways for you to do this. If you have some hobby or recreational thing you enjoyed with your friends back home, try and find similar clubs or groups and join them. You will have common interests with them, and you can easily find someone to talk to, and maybe even find a mate.

Change Your Habits

Whether you are relocating temporarily or for good, changing your old routine will help you keep your homesickness and nostalgia in place. For example, if you are relocating with pets, take them to a different park every day. Not only that you will get to know the city, but maybe you will make some friends as well. If you are relocating in wintertime, and your new city have plenty of mountains surrounding it, try out some winter sports during the weekends. But if this is extreme for you, you can always find a diner that feels like home and spend your Saturday mornings there.

Explore the City

One of the things you have to do after relocating is to explore the city. If you lock yourself in the house and let depression and nostalgia overtake you, this can lead to serious problems for your mental and physical health. This is why it is important that you make yourself leave the house and explore. Take your camera and go on a hike. Or, if you like riding a bike, you can easily get to know the place.

Start Your Preparations on Time

In order to have as little stress as possible during your relocation, you will have to start organizing and planning everything months in advance. There are a lot of things you have to do before your relocation day arrives. You will need some house hunting tips as well as some packing tips. If you decide not to hire long-distance movers for a packing service, you will need to get supplies like packing paper, bubble wrap, and boxes in order to move efficiently.

Start packing with items you don’t use that often and go room by room. If you are systematic and you have time, you can do this in a couple of weeks. Also, if you are planning to take your car with you, make all car shipping arrangements in advance. You will have to prepare your car for transport as well. On the other hand, if you don’t have time to arrange everything or if you have a lot of other things you have to take care of, like getting a job in a new city before you move, the most stress-free option you can choose is to hire cross-country moving company to do all work for you. Go online and research how much do movers cost and see if taking this service goes with your relocation budget. Check out this video for more tips.

Give Yourself Time to Adjust to a Different House

How do I cope with anxiety moving out? The most important thing is to be organized and not leaving everything for the last minute. This way, your stress about packing and other things will be less, and you will have time to cope with your emotions and homesickness. Once you move to your residence, decorate it right away. Fill your rooms with memories, and the transition will be much easier. Give yourself and your new place time. The adjustments may take longer, but it will come eventually, and you will start feeling and calling this place home.