Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-change

A neighbor of mine is moving this week to Arkansas. She and her family have been involved in the swim team for several years, and it will feel very strange when they don't come back to swim next summer. On the other hand, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that my mother's good friend has battled her breast cancer into remission and is recovering surprisingly well.

Both cases note an instance of change, though they happen to be unrelated and yield different effects. Although the second instance describes a positive change, people often consider change unsettling and unhappy. What is change and why does it bother it so much? How is one affected by change? Does change over a long period of time affect a person more than change in a short space of time? What influences change a person's character or personality?