Moving house on Tuesday

[panicpanda]

So I posted a while back that I'm moving. The process has taken much longer than expected but I have a date now - this Tuesday coming.

I'm really very scared. I don't feel like I've had enough exposure therapy to get there without freaking out. I'm housebound agoraphobic, unless with my CPN or boyfriend, but I still can't go further than 1.5 miles from home, the furthest place being the house I'm moving to. Even though my CPN has driven me there a few times, I'm still scared I'm not going to be able to do it on the day, I'm praying she can help and give me a lift because I trust her more than anyone else to drive me. The thought of having removals men around me freaks me out too, I don't like anyone who I don't trust in my home.

I'm trying to keep focussed on the positives of moving, but I'm just filled with dread right now. Not coping well in the heat either, hope it cools down a bit by Tuesday.

:unsure:

[Lily Kingston]

Oh honey, I really feel for you. I can't really offer any more advice than your CPN probably already has - but as you said, you have driven to the house on occasions before so it will be a little familiar now.

Have you used the visualisation technique? Visual yourself being driven there and not panicking. This has helped me in the past when I've been terrified by something. It's not foolproof and considering the strength of your anxiety it may only help a little but it's worth a try, no?

:bighug1:

I hope the move goes well.

[grotbags]

You might surrise yourself at how well you cope! I moved house last year and I was worried about it, but I also really wanted to so it gave me the drive to actually go through with it.

Do you WANT to move house?

I actually coped really well and didn't even have a panic attack during the move. The worst thing for me with the worry beforehand. I worried myself sick to the point where I hardly slept for several weeks before, and the night before the move I think I had two hours. I kept my valium with me in my bag during the move although I didn't end up taking one. I did use propranolol on the day though.
I also felt weird about having removal men in the house. To make matters worse, our actual move was about 7 in the morning and I am NOT good with mornings. Try and arrange for your CPN to give you a lift, and know that she will do it. That'll give you a sense of security to know beforehand.

How do you feel in the car? The car is a safe place for me. If you're the same, you could get almost all of the packing done in advance and then while the removal men are in the house, sit in the car. This was my plan for my move although as it turned out I was fine with the removal men in the house afterall. Be as organised as possible. Write a list of everything you need to do on the actual day and then hopefully you won't be up all night thinking about it!

Think about how this will start a new life for you. It will break a cycle in a lot of ways, and it might lead to your recovery. I have been a lot better since I moved, and chances are you will be too.

[panicpanda]

I actually managed to see the house empty yesterday, I did a bit of visualising like you suggested Lily. While I'm glad and have no idea how I managed to cope, it's made me not look forward to moving. It's got potential but it needs a hell of a lot of work doing to it. There's not one room that I'm comfortable in. Despite being agoraphobic, I felt better in the overgrown garden.

I don't know how the previous people lived in it, there's mold (the furry kind) all over the windows, the bathroom sink is coming off the wall, every room is nicotine stained. Okay, it's all do-able, but yuck. I felt dirty coming out of there. It makes me sort of want to stay in my nicely decorated and super-clean flat, but too late now! I wouldn't really want to stay here long term..

Luckily my boxes have all been moved now, thanks to kind family, just furniture and appliances to go. Should make it quicker on the day tomorrow.

Oh yeah, and I didn't sleep last night at all. If I don't sleep tonight I don't know what I'm going to do or how I'm going to cope :(

[panicpanda]

Oh god oh god oh god, I don't know how I'm going to cope :(
What if I wanna come back here? Oh I'm in such a state :weep:

[losin]

firstly - good luck. i've moved house many many times and some moves have gone well, some disasters but i've found the only way to get through them is to not think about the terror of the move itself, but to think - this time tomorrow/next week/whenever it will all be out of the way and done and i'll be in my new home making it into my space. i plan in my head what i'll be doing, looking online for things to put in the new place.
today is the big day so i hope it's all gone okay for you when you get to read this - you've done really well to get to this stage. be nice to yourself for a while and don't beat yourself up about your feelings as you're doing a very stressful thing and bad feelings are to be expected.
i spent the whole night before one move sitting up panicking that the removal men had ripped us off and wouldn't turn up with the lorry the next day.
they did of course, and meanwhile i'd lost a night's sleep for nothing.
:bighug1:

[nekha123]

So I posted a while back that I'm moving. The process has taken much longer than expected but I have a date now - this Tuesday coming.

I'm really very scared. I don't feel like I've had enough exposure therapy to get there without freaking out. I'm housebound agoraphobic, unless with my CPN or boyfriend, but I still can't go further than 1.5 miles from home, the furthest place being the house I'm moving to. Even though my CPN has driven me there a few times, I'm still scared I'm not going to be able to do it on the day, I'm praying she can help and give me a lift because I trust her more than anyone else to drive me. The thought of having removals men around me freaks me out too, I don't like anyone who I don't trust in my home.

I'm trying to keep focussed on the positives of moving, but I'm just filled with dread right now. Not coping well in the heat either, hope it cools down a bit by Tuesday.

:unsure:


How was the tuesday thing?

[panicpanda]

Thanks for the replies.

I managed to move and coped a lot better than I thought. I didn't sleep for 3 nights before the move, maybe being exhausted helps. My CPN also gave me a lift on the day which helped. I have a lot of work and cleaning to do, the previous tenant left it in a right disgusting state, so that's distracting me from the anxiety for now :)

[losin]

oooh yes, there's nothing like getting your teeth into cleaning or decorating to distract from the stress. good luck in your new home, i'm sure you'll love it when you're settled and your energy levels are back up :yesyes:

[panicpanda]

Having a really bad night tonight, really on edge and feeling like I can't breathe. Tried to have a relaxing evening with films, first one in a fortnight, and I can't relax at all! All I can think about is how much work this house needs and how long it's going to take, and how much money it's going to cost when I'm skint already :mad: Arrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhh!!! I feel so sick from it all.

[losin]

that'll be the aftershock of the move - i remember it so well!
set your goals a little at a time. what's the priority in the house? you can spend years fixing it up, it doesn't matter. just do the things that are essential for now and try to create a little corner of heaven just for yourself where you can retreat to when it's all getting overwhelming. i've got a chair surrounded by knitting and books and that is my little piece of heaven. when i'm sitting in that i don't look at the walls that need painting, the carpet that needs cleaning etc etc