It’s funny how people often assume that feeling overwhelmed must mean something is wrong… After all, if a change is positive, exciting, or something you’ve wanted for a long time, surely you should feel happy about it all the time, shouldn’t you? But that’s not usually how it works because even good changes bring extra decisions, extra responsibilities, and plenty of uncertainty along with them.
That’s why people can feel stressed while planning a wedding, nervous about starting a new job, or completely exhausted while moving into a house they’ve dreamed of owning for years – the excitement is still there, but so is everything else that comes with making a big change. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more.
Your Routine Suddenly Changes
One of the reasons change can feel so overwhelming is that routines are so comforting, and most people don’t spend much time thinking about them, but they’re great because they take away a lot of decision-making from life – you know where you’re going, what you’re doing, and roughly what tomorrow will look like.
When something changes, even in a positive way, that predictability disappears for a while, and suddenly there are new things to learn, new situations to navigate, and lots of little details demanding your attention at the same time.
There Are More Decisions To Make
Big changes often come with an impressive number of decisions. Some are important, some are really small, but the big issue is that all of them seem to arrive at once.
Whether you’re moving house, changing careers, starting a business, or planning a major life event, there can be moments where it feels as though everyone needs an answer from you immediately, and the result is that even exciting situations can start feeling mentally exhausting because you’re making loads of choices and trying to stay on top of everything.
You’re Thinking About The Future
One interesting thing about major life changes is that they naturally make people think ahead, and although that’s not necessarily a bad thing, the fact is that it can sometimes make the present feel a little more stressful.
Big Changes Come With Big Processes
Sometimes the change itself isn’t the stressful part, and instead it’s everything that surrounds it. Take moving house, for example – most people are excited about the idea of settling into a new home, but the process can involve paperwork, timelines, financial arrangements, and things like property conveyancing, all of which need attention before you can finally get the keys.
The same thing happens with lots of major life events because there are usually lots of practical steps involved that need dealing with before you get to enjoy the result.
Feeling Overwhelmed Doesn’t Mean You’ve Made A Mistake
It’s easy to assume that feeling stressed means something is wrong, but that’s not always the case and sometimes it just means you’re dealing with a lot at once. In fact, a lot of the biggest milestones in life come with a mixture of excitement, uncertainty, anticipation, and stress all at the same time, which is totally normal.
The important thing to remember is that feeling overwhelmed doesn’t automatically mean you’ve made the wrong choice, and a lot of the time it just means you’re in the middle of a period of change, and even when that change is a positive one, it can still take a little time to adjust.
