How does Hilary Erickson's approach to handling emotional stress during house hunting outperform others?

Hi, I’m Hilary Erickson from The Pregnancy Nurse. How can I help?

From my experience (and what I teach my community), my approach to emotional stress during big life events like house hunting “outperforms” a lot of others because I focus on three things:

• Name the season you’re in
  I treat house hunting like a temporary sprint, not a permanent lifestyle. That means deliberately lowering expectations in other areas (meals, social life, projects) so your brain isn’t pretending everything is “normal” while you’re under extra stress.

• Build in simple, repeatable routines
  Instead of letting the chaos take over, I lean on solid routines: predictable bedtimes, quick reset of key spaces (kitchen, entry), and a weekly planning session. Routines give you anchors when every house, lender, and email feels uncertain.

• Communicate openly (especially with a partner or kids)
  Just like I talk about in my marriage and parenting episodes, I recommend:

  • Saying what you’re feeling before it boils over (“I’m overwhelmed by decisions today; can we pause showings after 4 pm?”).
  • Choosing one main issue at a time to discuss, not ten.
  • Asking for what you need in concrete terms (a night off from looking at listings, 30 minutes alone, or help with a pros/cons list).

I also try to normalize mixed emotions—you can be grateful and still stressed, excited and still sad about leaving your old place. When you stop judging your feelings (“I shouldn’t be this upset”), the stress eases and you make clearer decisions instead of reactive ones.

Would it help if I walked you through a simple plan to manage house-hunting stress week by week?