The Indian Express ·
Anurag Kashyap more focussed after moving to Bengaluru: Is relocation good for your mental health?
A psychologist explains how changing one’s surroundings can help break stressful routines and create a psychological reset
When filmmaker Anurag Kashyap left Mumbai and moved to Bengaluru, he was not simply changing cities. He was trying to step away from an environment that, by his own account, had begun to weigh on him. In interviews after the move, he has spoken about feeling less burdened, less stressed and being more productive. He said leaving Mumbai helped him step away from the pressures of the Hindi film industry; he also described changes in his daily life, including giving up alcohol, exercising and spending more time writing.
His experience raises a broader question: can moving to a new place actually be good for our mental health? “Relocating to a new city or environment is often described as a major life change, but psychologically, it can sometimes be an opportunity to reset,” Arpita Kohli, psychologist and counsellor, PSRI Hospital, New Delhi, told The Indian Express. Excerpts:
When a person moves away from an environment that has been consistently stressful, it can create psychological distance from some of the triggers associated with that stress. A 2005 study by psychologists Wendy Wood, Leona Tam and Melissa Guerrero Witt examined what happens to habitual behaviour when circumstances change. The researchers found that when people moved into a new environment, familiar cues that normally triggered habits were disrupted. Some behaviours therefore became less automatic, giving people greater scope to act on their intentions rather than simply following an established routine.
