Among the most stressful events in a person’s life, moving is high on the list. A total disruption of routine and an undoing of the norm, moving changes almost everything.

Whether local or long distance, a move can toss everything into the air and things don’t always fall where we like.

I moved this year, I’ve moved a lot in my life and have usually done well with it. As an organized person I can manage a great deal of the stress by being prepared and having things planned; packed, labeled and a plan for where things go helps. A list of address updates and minimizing the change in routine keeps things from feeling too overwhelming.

I moved this year, 1 mile away, in with my boyfriend. I packed and labeled and prepared and I felt completely overwhelmed – that’s the truth. Granted there were other big events happening in my life, family related, so there’s some cross over of overwhelm – but overwhelmed is the truth.

I felt bad about these feelings for a while and slowly let myself off the hook, I may be organized but I’m human first and foremost. Change is challenging, big changes can bring big challenges.

I gave myself permission to be overwhelmed and not deal so well – with less energy going towards beating myself up I have been able to focus on getting back on track and feeling better.

It’s so important that we be kind to ourselves in the midst of change; big or small. The stress won’t be bettered by beating ourselves up. Be kind to you with all the change you may be going through!