New Research Reveals that We Are a Nation of Worriers

Created: May 06 2015

Research published in April revealed that as a nation we worry and stress on a daily basis over “minor emergencies”.

Although topping the list of our everyday anxieties is an inability to sleep, seemingly insignificant hurdles seem to result in heightened panic, such as losing our glasses or running out of phone battery. With the UK’s stress threshold tested by trivial day to day events, the nation will be in need of extra support during one of the most anxiety-inducing times of one’s adult life – moving home.

According to psychologists at Goldsmiths, University of London, the UK is prone to ‘fearcasting,’ where the brain plans for all eventualities, no matter how unrealistic. The same analysis also discovered that almost a third of women and a quarter of men experience this every day. These findings from Goldsmiths were published alongside a poll of 2,000 adults conducted by insurers Direct Line, which ranked the UK’s top ten daily worries as:

  1. Not being able to sleep
  2. Losing your keys
  3. Being stuck in traffic when late
  4. Losing an important document
  5. Having nowhere to park
  6. Printer not working
  7. Phone battery running out
  8. Finding you are out of toilet paper
  9. Dealing with computerised customer service
  10. Finding you have forgotten your bank card

Professor Jonathan Freeman, of Goldsmiths, commented on the research by stating: “We wanted to investigate how everyday small emergencies conjure large feelings of stress. We were not expecting to find one of the major triggers was the way people mentally process the spiralling effects.”

As stated by Which? Mortgage Advisers, moving home is one of the most stressful events to take place in one’s life, above having a child. At Strawberry Star, as part of our commitment to minimising the stress of moving home, we will soon be launching the first instalment of our brand new research report – The True Cost of Moving.

The first iteration, due to go live later this month, will focus on the emotional cost of buying and selling a property. By surveying over 2,000 consumers, we aim to underpin the most significant worries UK movers have to overcome, and identify the potentially damaging effects these can have on one’s personal and professional life in the long-term. Further understanding around the angst faced by the UK in the context of moving home will enable us to lessen the emotional burden, ensuring every one of our clients receives the best possible service during a move.

Keep up to date on our news page for more on the True Cost of Moving.

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