A friend moving house can be a sad experience. If you're used to seeing someone every day, long distance relationships can be hard to get used to. There are various ways you can deal with a friend moving house. For starters, try to say goodbye so you can feel the “closure” from your friend. After that, deal with your friend's absence. Keep in touch with your friends who live far away via email, phone, and social media.
Step
Part 1 of 3: Saying Goodbye
Step 1. Be supportive of the move
Even if it's difficult, try to be supportive of your friend's move. Even if the move is difficult, the pressure will be even worse for your friend. She had to deal with the stress of having to pack and plan her move, as well as the stress of having to move to a new community. Make sure you support your friend until he or she moves on. This can help end things on a good note.
- Listen if your friend needs to talk. He may feel stressed, sad, or disappointed about the move. Be a friend and a good listener. Let your friend vent on your disappointment. While it's okay to say you're going to miss them, don't stress your friend any more than this.
- Even if you're sad that your friend has moved on, try to express genuine happiness for him or her. Wish him luck when he moves house. Like all the posts on his Facebook account regarding his move. Try to help your friend get excited. Look for new things your friend can do in their new home.
Step 2. Create memories that you can record
Memories are very important to help deal with your friend's move. You won't feel too bad about your friend's move if you have fond memories with them. Make an effort to take your photos, videos, and voice recordings with your friends. This can help both of you say goodbye. You won't be so saddened by your friend's absence if you have something to remember them for.
Step 3. Seek other people's support
As said earlier, your friend may already be overwhelmed with the process of moving. Do not let you vent your sadness on him. Seek support from other friends or family. Talk to them about how you feel about having to say goodbye to your friend.
- Ask someone if you can talk to them first. Explain that you need to control how you feel about your friend's move. Ask if they can hear you, then share your feelings.
- Choose someone who is empathetic, such as an older sibling or close friend. Choose someone who has listened to you before when you were going through a tough time.
Step 4. Consider hosting a farewell party
A farewell party can be a good way to signal the end of a friendship. Ask your other friends if they would like to get together to say goodbye to your moving friend. This will give your friend a chance to talk to everyone one last time.
- Consider designing a party that helps provide closure. For example, you could all give a short farewell speech or sign a goodbye card for your friend.
- Don't expect the farewell party to be fun. You must have predicted that there will be tears and sadness in it. This is a natural thing. Don't try to force your friends or guests to just feel happy.
Step 5. Try giving a parting gift
Consider giving a farewell gift to a friend. This can help both of you feel the "closing" moment. Your friend will have something to remember and you'll feel like you've had the chance to say goodbye formally.
- You don't have to spend a lot of money on parting gifts. This gift could be something sentimental and reflect your relationship. For example, if you and your friend like a certain cafe, buy him a mug from that cafe.
- You can also make creative gifts for your friends. Write a poem in memory of your friendship. Make a collage of the two of you.
Part 2 of 3: Coping With Your Friend's Absence
Step 1. Recognize that negative feelings are normal
When your friend moves on, you need to realize that negative feelings are natural. You shouldn't expect to be able to recover from this transition quickly. It's okay to let yourself feel how you feel, whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.
- It's natural to feel sad when you lose a friend, especially if you were very close to them. Even if you keep in touch, you won't be able to visit your friend's house at the end of a tiring day anymore. It's natural to feel disappointed and frustrated about this transition.
- You can also feel anxiety. Your friend will meet new people in their new location. You may be afraid of being replaced or forgotten. Such anxiety is also very normal.
- If your friend moves house for a positive reason, such as a new job or admission to a prestigious university, you will feel guilty about being sad. You will feel that you should be able to be happy for your friend and her new successful life. However, it's okay to feel sad. Any transition will have your feelings mixed. You can be happy for your friend, but sad that you will miss him or her.
Step 2. Share your feelings
Holding on to feelings during a tough transition is a bad idea. You have to be able to express your feelings to be able to deal with it. As discussed earlier, you can talk to a trusted friend or family member. You can also express your feelings through writing. Journaling your feelings several times a week can help you process this transition.
Step 3. Reflect on your friendship
Take some time to reflect after your friend has moved. Moving someone can create a strange feeling. His friendship did not end, but changed dramatically. Nothing will be the same from now on. Take some time to reflect on your friendships when you lived in the same place.
Try to see the positives and negatives of this. You will feel sorry for your friend's move. There may be a lot of things the two of you can't do together, for example. But you should also feel grateful for the time you both had
Step 4. Give yourself time to adapt
Sometimes, adaptation takes time. When a close friend moves house, you will feel strange about his absence. You'll feel unsure about what to do on the weekends, for example, or feel lost because you don't know who to go to at the end of a busy day. This is a normal thing. Don't try to force yourself to feel better quickly than naturally. Give yourself the time you need to adapt to your friend's absence.
Step 5. Keep yourself busy
It will take some time to adapt to the absence of a good friend. Find ways to keep yourself busy when your friend is gone. Spend time with friends or other family members. Find a new hobby or activity that will take up your time.
- If you have a typical day spent with your friends, find a way to spend that day. For example, maybe you always have dinner with your friends on Friday nights. Make the same plan with another friend or join a club that meets every Friday.
- Call another friend. While you will miss your friend who moved away, you should also strengthen your relationship with the friends who are still close to you. These friends may miss a friend who has moved too and would love to have you contact them.
- Find a new hobby. If you're not sure what to do without a friend, finding new ways to pass the time can help. Explore your interests. If you've always been interested in cooking, for example, try signing up for a cooking class.
Step 6. See a therapist if necessary
It's perfectly normal to feel sad when a friend moves house. However, certain mental health conditions, such as clinical depression, can make adapting to change more difficult. If you have been diagnosed with a mental health condition before, or if you suspect that you have a condition such as depression, seek the help of a therapist.
You can find a therapist by asking your GP for recommendations. You can also find a therapist through your insurance company. If you are a student, you may be registered for free counseling through your university
Part 3 of 3: Staying in Touch
Step 1. Send your friends emails or text messages frequently
Even if your friend has moved on, you should be grateful for modern technology. Now it's easier for us to keep in touch via email and text and both can send messages instantly. Try to keep correspondence by e-mail. Send an email every few weeks telling how you're doing. You can also message your friends every day, just to keep in touch.
Step 2. Call your friends or try video calling
Long, pointless conversations don't have to end because your friend moves house. Even if your friend is very far away, you can still call them or video chat regularly. Try scheduling a chat session via Skype, Facetime, or Google Hangout. You can also call your friends. The two of you can plan to call or video chat every Tuesday every two weeks.
Step 3. Stay in touch on social media
Social media makes it easier for you to connect with friends who are moving house. Take advantage of Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram and Twitter. You can get the latest news about your friends' daily activities through social media so you will feel that the distance can be overcome.
You can also play games from a distance via Facebook and your phone. Trivia games and games like Words With Friends can make you feel like you're with your friends
Step 4. Accept that the contact will diminish over time
While it's easy to keep in touch with friends who live far away, you may not communicate as often as when you live in the same place. At first, you will call or text each other constantly because you both miss each other. However, once you both start to adapt and meet new people, communication will be less frequent.
This isn't a bad thing and it doesn't mean the two of you are drifting away from each other. Most people have friends who live far away but feel close even though they only communicate occasionally. You'll notice when the two of you chat, you feel like time never rolls, even though it's been months
Step 5. Get together when the opportunity arises
Even if your friend has moved on, you can still see each other once in a while. Try to meet once a year, or once every two years. If your friend still has a relative living in your town, he or she may be there during the holiday season. While the visits won't be very frequent, you'll appreciate your friend's presence even more when the two of you only see each other once a year.
