Denton County Living Well Magazine July/August 2017 | Page 16

Uprooting and Moving
By Georgia Smith-Lyle, MA
M
Helpful Suggestions
oving your household can be a bitter
sweet change, depending on your situ-
ation and reasons for moving. Wheth-
er you are single, married, married
with children, young or old, uprooting
your life by moving households can be very difficult
even when the change is exciting and positive. a “counselor” goes through what you are going
through. Counseling is my job but also my passion
to help others, so I want to provide a few helpful
and basic suggestions for those of you getting ready
to move. Summer is one of the major seasons when
families are moving before the beginning of a new
school year.
One of the major stressors in life is moving to another
home. Our basic nature is to nest and be stable in
our surroundings, find community and thrive where
we are at home. When our home is disrupted by hav-
ing to move, whether invited or not, there are definite
emotional and physical impacts upon our psyche. The
physical impact alone can be tiring which will have
an adverse effect upon our emotions. I have moved
several times in my life, and each move was a little
different depending on how much planning ahead
I did, how organized I tried to be, how much help
I had, and to what degree I wanted to move. As a
counselor, I can apply all the helpful insights and psy-
chological preparation for moving, but the truth is to
some degree, a major move will be stressful. Again,
depending on your level of preparation emotionally
and physically will depend on your stress level. Hopefully, the following suggestions will make your
move and transition go as smoothly as possible with
minimal hiccups. I’m speaking from past experience
but also from my recent move. It is amazing to me we
never stop learning from major changes like “mov-
ing” in our lives. Here are a few things I’ve learned
and would suggest:
Up to this point of reading, you may have guessed
that I just recently moved! And you are correct! I so
enjoy writing from my heart as a counselor and I
believe some of the best counsel you get is when
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DENTON COUNTY Living Well Magazine | JULY/AUGUST 2017
First, if you are using a moving company be
sure to get three or four quotes from several. Ask
friends and co-workers who they have used or
recommend.
Second and most important, begin packing as
far enough in advance as you can possibly tol-
erate and still function normally in your present
home. Most of the “stuff” we think we need, we
don’t use. This is also a great opportunity to be-
gin cleaning out. When you begin taking on one
area at a time, packing one box at a time, there
is a sense of reward and you feel emotionally en-
ergized by the progress of even one box!