"The ultimate luxury is being able to relax and enjoy your home" Jeff Lincoln
A recent survey found that 77% of home movers experienced increased stress as a result of their last home move and more than half said that moving home had been their most stressful life event to date.
Take a moment to pause and reflect on your most recent move, or maybe right now you are contemplating a change of location or perhaps you have already begun the process of dismantling your old life in readiness for the new.
Are you feeling excited at the possibility of making new friends, of discovering what a new location has to offer, of getting out of your comfort zone and engaging your creative senses and curiosity about what this next chapter in your life might bring?
Amidst the excitement of a new move maybe you are feeling anxious too. It is perfectly normal for change to create anxiety and there may be feelings around loss of your support network, fear of feeling isolated in a new place where you have few connections or a sense of overwhelm at the task ahead with all the practicalities this involves.
Some of the symptoms you may experience include
• Finding it hard to relax
• Feeling easily overwhelmed and triggered by situations you would normally cope with
• Lack of mental focus and inability to make decisions e.g. facing the task of decluttering your much-loved possessions
• Fear of the unknown.
The Bach Remedies are natural flower essences providing emotional support during challenging times such as moving home. They were discovered by Dr Edward Bach, a respected Harley Street physician and homeopath in the 1930’s.
The remedies are a gentle, safe, self-help system of healing and they are simple to use. Each of the 38 flower essences resonates with a particular emotional state, something that makes us feel unhappy, and their use helps gently restore balance, harmony and health.
Here are a few remedies you may find helpful:
Walnut offers protection during periods of upheaval and is helpful when we feel unsettled by change or outside influences. It allows us to approach new beginnings with determination.
Elm is for feeling overwhelmed or over-burdened by the pressure of the moving process. This remedy restores our ability to cope and builds on our natural resilience.
Mimulus helps soothe our fear and anxiety about the move itself, bringing courage to face the challenge.
Aspen may support general feelings of apprehension and unease, offering faith and confidence in the unknown.
White Chestnut is for the overactive mind (e.g. caused by a lengthy to-do list), for those persistent repetitive thoughts we may ruminate over. This remedy brings inner calm and quietens the busy mind.
Olive is for exhaustion following mental or physical effort and which may prevent us from sleeping well. This remedy restores strength and vitality.
Scleranthus helps us with decision making when we find it hard to choose between alternatives e.g. when decluttering and we need to decide which memento to keep and which to discard. This remedy allows us to take prompt decisive action.
The Crisis Formula – for Acute Situations
You may be familiar with Rescue Remedy™, a composite mix of five remedies for use in times of acute stress or emergency. I recommend my clients keep a bottle close by at all times and you may find it of help on moving day, for example, if there are delays or things don’t go quite to plan.
The dosage is 4 drops diluted or sipped at intervals until symptoms subside or 4 drops taken neat on the tongue or pulse points (temples, wrists, behind ears), repeat as necessary.
How to take the Remedies / Dosage
You may select up to 7 single remedies at a time. For short term usage add 2 drops to a glass of water and sip until the mood has passed.
The Bach Flower Remedies offer support and help us manage the emotional demands of everyday life – from passing moods, to acute emergency situations and for more deep-seated unwanted emotional patterns. Regular long-term use of the remedies allows us to separate our behaviour from the emotions which hold us back, bringing clarity and understanding and building self-awareness and resilience.
A version of this article appeared as a guest Blog on the website of New Leaves Professional Organisers (www.newleaves.info) on 17th October 2024.