Does Change Stress You Out? Here’s What A Therapist Suggests

Why does change feel so stressful, even when it’s a positive change like starting a new job or moving to a beautiful new place? As licensed marriage and family therapist Tiana Leeds, M.A., LMFT, tells mbg, it comes down to our comfort zone—and having to move beyond it.

“Life transitions shake us up and force us out of our comfort zones. We no longer have the option to fall back on default mode,” she explains. Change requires us to modify our routines to fit into our new life, she adds, “and these types of micro and macro habit shifts can be hard to adjust to, putting us on edge.”

On top of that, Leeds notes, change involves uncertainty. Even if we’re in a better situation than before, it’s still unnerving not to have that familiarity and predictability. “Uncertainty is inherently stressful for most of us,” she adds.