There is a common saying, ‘Home is where the heart is.’ So what happens when you lose your home? How terrible it can be to lose a piece of your heart. There can be many reasons for the loss of a home. In this article, we discuss what it is like being depressed over losing your home. We discover how to deal with losing your home.

  Home can mean a lot of things for everyone. People would generally agree that their home is the most comfortable place to be at. There is emotional value to it. There can be many reasons why one could lose home. Sometimes the reasons can be voluntary and other times they are not Despite the reasons, the pain can be intense. Some common reasons are as follows:

Natural Calamity

One of the most common reasons for losing a home is due to natural calamity. Each year, events like floods or tornadoes lead to the loss of property. Many people living in vulnerable areas lose their homes. At many places, landslides or earthquakes lead to the permanent loss of homes. This can be very depressing for people because they have to run for their lives without any preparation. Building a house takes a lot of investment and natural calamity wipes it out in seconds. Natural events force people out of their homes which is why you can feel depressed over losing your home. This is because this movement was not voluntary.

Financial Loss

Financial loss is another common reason for the loss of a home. People often keep their house as collateral and when they are unable to pay a loan, they lose their house. This is especially depressing as the person is left with no money and no shelter. Additionally, it is also humiliating for the person to be living without a house. Moreover, it affects children’s education and the personal lives of members too. Therefore you can depressed over losing your home, your friends, and your social spots.

Relocation

Often people relocate to other places in search of a job or college. In that case, they have to lose their home. People marry into different cities which is why they need to leave past places behind. There can be other reasons for relocation such as a child’s education or for a better lifestyle. You can get depressed over losing your home if you had a special bond with your room or some space in the house. It takes years and years to build a home. Each member of the family builds the house and decorates it with their memories. A home is a place full of emotions. It is witness to several milestones of the members. It is also a place where a person celebrates several events. Therefore a home is not just a structure made of bricks. It is a storage for memories and emotions of people who live in it. Therefore losing a home would mean losing all the memories and emotions. You can experience many emotions over losing their homes. You can feel depressed over losing your home because of the following reasons:

1. People build their homes in a way that represents their identity. We have often heard the term ‘dream home’. You may have created your home in the way you had imagined. Be it the colors of the walls, the interiors, or the garden. You may have put a lot of effort into building your home. You can therefore get depressed over losing your home.
2. There can be a lot of uncertainty over the next step after losing your home. Imagine losing your home to a calamity and not knowing what to do next. When you lose your home, you just don’t lose some walls and tiles. You lose a huge amount of investment. Additionally, the financial burden can make you feel depressed over losing your home. You may wonder how will you gather money to build a new home.
3. You may feel depressed over losing a home because, with your home, you lose a lot of connections. Such as your neighbors, your friends, or your favorite hangout spots. You may have shared a special bond with them. All of it is lost when you lose your home.

Losing a home is tough. It leads to a lot of burden on the family members. Firstly, they have the pressure of relocation. Secondly, they have to move past the memories of the old place. This can lead to a rollercoaster of emotions. There can be a lot of uncertainties regarding various things. For instance, children will be confused about their education. Elders will be worried about their workplace. Therefore it is important to know how you can deal with losing your home.

Losing a home and moving to a new place will require a lot of adjustments. Sometimes, people may not even have time to process their emotions. It is important to address how you are feeling. If you have lost your home in a natural calamity, it can often lead to trauma. If this trauma and uncertainties are not addressed it can lead to depression or other mental health-related problems. Here are some ways in which you can deal with losing your home:

Invest Wisely

Since you will have to move to a new home, invest wisely. If the loss of a home is due to financial causes, then it will be even more important to spend your money wisely. Often one ends up making a hasty decision and selects a home in a poor condition. Make sure to prepare a sound budget for the new house. Take home loans or rent a low-cost apartment for time being. Additionally, make sure to do proper research before investing in a new property.

Symbolic Good-Byes

If you had to abruptly leave your home, it can be depressing. This is because of a lack of closure. It can happen when one loses their homes to natural calamity. In that case, to deal with losing your home, you can write a goodbye note. You can recall memories of your old home and note them down in the note. One way is that you can create some write-ups where you can describe the attributes of your home. You can write a poem or a song about your old home.

Revisit Your Old Home

If you are depressed about losing your home, you can revisit the home just to refresh your memories. You can say a formal goodbye to the house. Often children can get sad over losing their home. In that case, saying a formal goodbye and thanking the old house for the memories can help children move on. You can also talk to the new members of the house and if they are welcoming, you can share stories about the house.

Create a Picture Album

If you have pictures from your old home, collect them and make an album of them. You can also write up about the events that took place in the house. You can include detailed notes about the places in that house. For this, you can take help from your family members.

Recreate

When you build a new home, you can try recreating some elements from your old home. This can help you keep the memory of your old home alive. For instance, you can use some artifacts from your old home to decorate the new one. You can try to recreate some architecture of the old home. Despite these reasons, the loss of a home can be depressing for many people. While some people can cope with it easily some people find it hard to move on. When the loss is involuntary, the pain is even more because the person is not ready to move on. Sometimes this pain can manifest in the form of chronic pain or chronic fatigue. This is because a person is not able to verbalize their pain. At times, prolonged depression can even lead to anxiety. If you are suffering from any of these, Epsychonline has courses that can help you overcome these problems. There are several courses such as DBT for Social anxiety, Chronic pain or Chronic fatigue. These courses can help you overcome your feelings of depression and sadness. There are many articles that can help you deal with loss. Do check them out.