Whether you are moving schools, towns, cities, or continents, moving is a big deal. It can be exciting, but a lot changes and it takes time to feel comfortable with everything you have left behind. You have just moved to a new place; you have lost the old place you moved from. This can be hard to deal with. Here are some things can you do to help:

Take action. Get involved in community activist groups. Go to protests. Reach out to politicians. Educate your friends and family. Do something that will make a change. Taking action can help you relieve stress by making you feel like you are actually working towards a positive future.

Acknowledge the loss. Often when we think about moving, we don’t think about the loss that happens. We could be losing connections with friends, family, familiar places, our sense of who we are even. It’s im portant to acknowledge this and accept this loss.

Be comfortable with your emotions. Even if you are excited to move, you can be caught off guard by your emotions. This is normal and expected. Emotions might come in waves. Some days you might feel fine a nd other days you will miss your old life. This is okay.

Be ready to feel uncomfortable. The biggest part of moving is that everything suddenly feels unfamiliar. Your life has changed, everything around you is different. You can feel like an alien in you r new home. It can be strange and disorientating, but don’t worry, it is a normal part of the moving process.

Keep the familiar. Stay in contact with friends and family from back home. Keeping familiar faces in your life will make you feel normal. Gettin g their support is so important. Let them know how you are feeling about the move - the highs and the lows.

Know that things can take time. Moving is a long process. It can take years for things to feel normal again, to feel like you belong in your new h ome, to move on from the loss of your old life. Don’t get frustrated if things don’t feel normal for a while.

Hang in there