Wednesday 18 July 2012

Can a house cause depression?

I don’t know if it’s because I’m making friends now or diving in head first with volunteer work or the fact after 19 months life has some normality to it, but I seriously believe that the last house had a negative vibe which caused depression.
The first house was luxurious, think Kevin McCloud and Grand Design, but it wasn’t a home, it was cold, open planned, no privacy or space for one self. It was an entertainers home, designed for a team of domestic staff to cook, clean, tidy, manage. It wasn’t a house for us; one we could make a home.
We were new to the country, no friends, not used to having staff even if it costs a pittance to employ them.

As you know we’ve had no assistance from Hubbies Company for the move to SA, then into a rental house, then a further move 2 months ago. We didn’t know what to expect other than high crime and extreme poverty and while it does exist, the country is so very different. Different in every way imaginable, different from my comfort zone.
So feeling at home has been very important to me, as a family. We need a secure base to work from, as long as we have a home to come back to at the end of the day then everything will be ok.

The new house feels like home, it has rooms, where we can cut ourselves off from the rest of the family or all be together in the same area, doing different things. There is direct access to the outside without having to go down 2 flights of stairs, every room is usable for whatever we want it to be, the furniture fits, its flows with the house, with our needs.
We have a lease on our new home for a year with an option to renew for another, if I get my way, this will be our home for the foreseeable future.

4 comments:

  1. I quite agree..when you move so far from 'home' you need to ensure that you feel at 'home'

    Great post :-)

    Lou x

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  2. What you say about your old house makes a lot of sense to me. If somewhere doesn't feel 'homely' I am sure it can cause a depression of sorts, especially when you've uprooted and changed so much else in your life. Great that the new abode feels like home.

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    Replies
    1. It's very strange as we made the old house as homely as we could but it never worked out, yet in the new house the same belongings seem to just fit

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