Moving home is stressful. A Zen Buddhist monk offers advice about coping with it, and other life events, and about living mindfully

People leaving Hong Kong face plenty of potential stressors – from finding and furnishing a new home, taking up a job, new foods, even arguing with a partner

A book by a Japanese priest offers Zen advice such as to pare down your belongings to dissipate your worries and to stay positive and grounded in the present

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Moving home, especially to a new country, can be a stressful event. A Zen Buddhist priest’s book offers practical advice about how to minimise the stress of this and other life events. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 4:15pm, 23 Apr 2022

A December 2021 survey found that almost two-thirds of Hong Kong residents were unhappy with life in the city and that one in five wanted to leave.

The cost of living – from ever-increasing property prices to the rising prices of vegetables – and the prolonged Covid-19 social distancing restrictions and difficulty in travelling is making a move abroad, whether temporary or permanent, seem an attractive proposition for some.

Moving, though, is no simple process. It’s downright stressful. It’s not just your location that’s changing, but your whole life.

Stress is bad

The Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale ranks more than 40 stressful life events. The higher the total stress score, the higher the risk of falling ill. The death of a spouse scores highest, at 100; the score for moving home is 20.

The bundle of sideline stresses that comes with moving also feature on the scale: mortgages (17 to 31, depending on size), changing school (20), the potential for arguments (35), not to mention change in living conditions (25) and eating habits (15).

Many of those Hong Kong people who take the plunge and move to pastures new will find themselves at a career crossroads (36).