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Moving Tips

5 Ways to Deal With Your NJ Relocation Depression

5 Ways to Deal With Your NJ Relocation Depression

Even if you’re excited for your upcoming relocation to New Jersey, a move can leave you feeling dispirited, especially if you’re moving to a completely new city. After all, you’ll be leaving behind your old friends and, if you’re moving away from home, your family members. So if you’re feeling depressed because of all these changes, you’re not alone. 

Almost every major life event, no matter how positive, can lead to a period of upheaval. What matters are the steps you take to ensure these negative emotions don’t affect your overall mental health and wellness. That’s why we have compiled a list of tips and tricks to keep you on track and feeling good.

What is Relocation Depression

While it’s not a formal diagnosis in the DSM-5 manual, relocation depression, also known as adjustment disorder, is very real and its effects vary greatly between people. For many, the disruption to their routine as well as the anxiety associated with a move, can lead to temporary sadness. Depending on how far you’re moving, it can mean losing your support network, feelings of isolation, and dealing with culture shock. Other causes of relocation depression include:

  • Physical and mental exhaustion from the move
  • Uncertainty about the future
  • Increased financial burden
  • New job or career
  • Underlying mental health issues

These emotions are felt even strongly in children who thrive on routine and familiarity. While many children thrive in their new environment, others might have difficulty fitting in or making friends. Studies show that frequent moves during childhood can lead to poor mental health later in life.

Suffering from relocation depression isn’t limited to younger people. Many senior citizens experience the same effects, especially when they are moved into senior care facilities. After all, they are being moved out of their home, which they might have lived in for decades with many requiring some kind of aid from complete strangers. 

Symptoms of Relocation Depression

Not everyone experiences relocation depression the same way, but there are a few things you should look out for including:

  • Changes in your sleep whether that’s sleeping more or less than usual
  • Feeling irritable
  • Change in appetite
  • Lack of interest in your regular activities
  • Overall sadness
  • Difficulty completing tasks
  • Loss of interest in socializing
  • Difficulty concentrating

Unsurprisingly, these are similar symptoms as clinical depression. The difference is that adjustment disorder is temporary and should go away as you get settled. Still, the symptoms can persist long after your move if you don’t find ways to address it. It is especially easy to let these feelings persist if you have feelings of regret or start doubting your ability to adapt. 

Coping with Relocation Depression

Over time, you should find it easier to get used to your new life in New Jersey, but adjusting to these changes can still be challenging. You might even feel pressured to put on a brave face for your children and especially at your new job. However, your best bet is to confront the issue and find ways to handle these changes. Luckily, there are a few steps you can take to make the transition to your NJ home easier.

Familiarize Yourself With Your New Neighborhood

If you’ve moved to a new city in New Jersey or are coming from out-of-state take some time after your move to explore your surroundings. Look up local tourist attractions or events happening in your town or in the surrounding areas. You should also find ways to meet new friends whether activity groups or even volunteering.

Make Your Home Comfortable

Don’t take too long unpacking your things. While you might want to procrastinate for a few days, try to unpack as much as possible in the first week. The very act of cleaning and organizing your things can help reduce your anxiety and increase your overall comfort levels. Plus, unpacking can also help make you feel more productive, which can then carry over to other parts of your life.

While you should unpack the essential boxes first, don’t neglect decorating your new place. Take some time to go to a local hardware or paint store with your family and choose some colors for a few of the communal rooms. If you have kids, let them choose what color they want their room and maybe even pick a few stencils. Of course, you don’t have to paint if you don’t want to. However, you should take some time to add a few decorations around the house to make it feel more lived in. If you don’t have many, consider purchasing a few items such as:

  • Candles
  • Wall art
  • Throw pillows
  • Curtains
  • Photos of friends and family

Don’t forget to set up a space in your house where you can relax. It might be a reading nook or even just a cushy sofa. Whatever the case, you want a place where you can enjoy some quiet time.

Practice Self-Care

With all the excitement of moving, it’s easy to focus on the tasks at hand and push your own needs to the side. However, that’s a recipe for disaster. Instead, carve out some time in your calendar for some self-care activities that you know will put you in a better mood. Some potential ideas include:

  • Journaling
  • Yoga
  • Meditation
  • Taking a shower
  • Enjoying a hobby
  • Exercising
  • Listening to music
  • Enjoying your favorite snack or meal

Some of these activities only take a few minutes, so you won’t fall too far behind schedule. Plus a happier and relaxed you will make you even more productive!

Throw a Party

After a big move, it’s common for folks to throw a housewarming party. Not only is it a great way to get to know your neighbors, it’s also a way for you to celebrate a new beginning in your life! Invite over any friends or family who live in the area as well as your neighbors. You don’t need to throw a huge party. In fact, you should try to keep it as low-key as possible to reduce stress. Ask folks to bring something to the party whether it’s food or drinks. After that, spend a few hours chatting and relaxing.

Another benefit of a housewarming party is that it motivates you to finish unpacking and cleaning. It’s also a great excuse to decorate and use your new kitchen!

Fall Back into Your Routine

It’s important to have a routine, especially in the midst of a life changing event like a big move! This is true of you as an adult, your kids, and even your pets. A routine helps add normalcy to your life and allows you to get back in a comfortable groove. With that said, moving means even your old routines get a makeover since you’ll be in a new location. That 30 minute morning walk with your dog is now an adventure to explore different parts of your neighborhood. The same with going to the gym or a yoga studio. Plus, you’ll also get to meet other people who might end up becoming your friend.

As for the kids, make sure you keep them on the same schedule of dinner and bedtime. For the first few weeks, cook family favorites. If you have young children, make sure to read their favorite bedtime stories. School-aged children might need to make some adjustments when it comes to what time they wake up, especially if the school is further away. Still, you should bring over as many traditions/schedule as possible so the move isn’t too jarring for them.

Make Your Move Easier!

If you’ve already found your dream home, you can make the next chapter in your life a lot easier by hiring professional NJ movers like us! At NJ Great Movers, we can help with packing and unpacking in addition to our standard moving services. Just let us know what you need and we’ll provide more information!

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General

How to Manage and Reduce Stress During Your Move

How to Manage Stress During Your Move

Moving to a new home or apartment is equal parts exciting and stressful. You get to finally move into your dream place (hopefully) that you can decorate as you see fit. However, after a couple of days of packing, organizing, and cleaning, the excitement starts to fade as you realize that the tasks you need to complete will take hours if you want it done correctly. Moving day is no exception. Even if you hire professional NJ movers, you still need to make sure everything you packed arrives in one piece and then go through the arduous task of unpacking.

It’s no surprise that with all the moving parts you need to manage that moving can be an incredibly stressful experience. Add kids and/or pets into the mix and moving can feel like an impossible task. Luckily, there are some things you can do to manage stress during your move.

Start with a Complete Moving Plan

One of the first and best steps you can take is to break the task of moving into several smaller steps. Take a couple of hours and write down everything you need to do to make the move successful. Don’t rush this part! The more detailed your plan is, the easier it will be in the long run. A few items to include on your to-do list include:

  • Creating a budget
  • Researching nearby movers
  • Getting necessary documents from your doctor’s office and vet’s office if you have pets
  • Finding/purchasing packing materials
  • Organizing your belongings and selling and/or donating them
  • Packing everything up
  • School transfer information if you have kids
  • Scheduling utilities turn on at the new location

And so on Once you’ve created this list, you can start scheduling everything out and setting deadlines for each of the items. You can also organize the list by urgency and leave some of the smaller details like mail forwarding until after you settle into your new place. There are a lot of moving pieces, but having a master plan you can refer to when you feel overwhelmed can help manage your stress levels.

Start with Small Tasks to Make Moving Easier

Rome wasn’t built in a day. Unless you have to move suddenly, you should start planning your move at least a month before your actual move date. This way, you can get at least one or two things done a day. While it might not seem like much in the beginning, every task you complete in advance means one less thing you need to worry about on moving day.

Larger tasks like decluttering can be done over the course of several days or even weeks so don’t try to cram both of these into one day. When it comes to decluttering, try to get a room done a day. Areas that you use as general storage (garage, basement, etc.) might require a few days as you’ll probably have to sift through a lot of stuff so break these up into two or three days. Decluttering can be a tedious process, but it will make packing a lot easier. Separate everything in the room into three piles: keep, donate/sell, throw out, and then organize every item into one of the three piles. Once you’re done, put the donate/sell items into a box and put them somewhere out of the way. After you’ve decluttered everything, you can host a garage sale to get rid of all your unwanted items. If you still have items left over, give them away for free. If they’re in good shape, drop them off at your nearest Goodwill store.

Like decluttering, you should do your packing over a few days. Start with rooms/areas that you don’t use often like a guest bedroom or attic and create an inventory of everything in these rooms. Make copies to keep on hand in a moving binder and to give to movers if you hire them.

Seek Help from Friends, Family, or Hire Professional Movers

You don’t have to move by yourself! Enlist the help of friends or family when it comes to packing or moving heavier things if you’re going the DIY move. Even if they won’t help with the move itself, they might be able to help in other ways such as:

It’s never easy to ask for help, but know that your good friends and family members are usually more than willing. Just remember to return the favor by providing some food and drinks after the move and answering their call should they need to move in the future.

Of course, the other form of help you can enlist is that of the professionals. There are plenty of NJ moving companies that can make moving day a breeze and many offer a variety of services from the standard loading/unloading of your items to full-service packing and storage. While hiring pros will be more expensive than going the DIY route, it can save you a lot of time on moving day and you won’t have to worry about getting hurt because you were lifting heavy items. Just make sure you have enough money in your budget to cover these costs. Many movers will do their best to work within your budget. Even if you’re only able to afford the most basic service of loading and unloading, you’re still saving yourself some time on moving day.

Research Thoroughly About Your New Neighborhood

Sure, it might be exciting to move to a new neighborhood, but it can also be a bit scary especially if you’re not familiar with the area. How will your commute change? Where is the grocery store? Where’s the nearest gym? And the questions keep piling up. Before you know it, you might be more anxious than eager at the prospect of your new place.

To ease your mind, start doing some research ahead of time when you have a few moments. This can be as easy as plugging your new address into google maps and searching around the area to find points of interest such as laundromats, grocery stores, restaurants, home improvement stores, etc. If you live a reasonable driving distance away, consider taking a cruise around the neighborhood and familiarize yourself with the local streets, stores, and parks. Introduce yourself to your future neighbors and get to know the locals beforehand. By the time you move in, you’ll feel more at home.

Don’t Forget to Say Your Goodbyes

With all of the logistics of moving, it’s all too easy to fill up all your available time with packing, decluttering, and so on. However, carve some time out in the last week or so before your move to say your goodbyes. The best part is that you don’t need to plan anything elaborate. A simple barbecue or potluck would be a great option and you can invite your friends and neighbors. If you’re planning to move far away, you might want to set aside a full day for family members and close friends so you can really spend some quality time with them. Goodbyes are hard, but setting aside enough time for them can help you and your family not feel so overwhelmed.

If you have children, saying goodbye is especially important. You want to make sure they get a sense of closure and are able to see their friends one last time. Make sure to also check in with your children during the move to see how they are doing and what they would like to do to say goodbye to friends, family, and even the house. This might mean having play dates at their favorite park, going to their favorite restaurant, and maybe even taking some pictures of the old house and creating a scrapbook. If doing the latter, make sure to leave some empty pages at the end so they can take pictures of their new home!

Eliminate Stress on Moving Days

As you can see, planning is at the heart of all moves. The more time you have, the more you can split apart tasks into more manageable chunks. Speaking of planning, don’t forget to plan some downtime as well! This might mean taking a bath, eating a meal at your favorite restaurant, reading your favorite book, or having a family movie or game night. Taking the time to unwind and take your mind off the impending move can help melt away the stress.

Don’t neglect basic necessities either during your move. Create a healthy meal plan and stick to it! There are plenty of meals that you can cook in under 30 minutes. Also, make sure you get some exercise, stay hydrated, and get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. You’ll need as much energy as possible during this time.

Moving house is an adventure so make sure you enjoy the ride. As stressful as it might be, there are a lot of positives to moving. Write them all down and remind yourself of them when you start getting anxious. If everything still feels overwhelming, consider bringing in professional NJ movers to help out!