I moved out after 10 years of marriage - for me the anxiety of it and anticipation was far worse than the action. Once I started packing I just did it a box at a time (I set small goals like 5 boxes the first week, 7 the second etc). I'm not saying it wasn't difficult but it was doable and now that I'm out and living in my new place in a fun, hip little neighborhood I know it was the right move. People I don't even know very well have been coming up to me telling me how much better I look - and I feel better. It was hard for me to see how much it damaged me when I lived there because my perspective was too close but now that I'm away from it, I see how unhappy I really was and for the first time in years I have little moments of serenity. So I guess my answer is I did it one box at a time - and if it got overwhelming I stepped back an hour or so and then returned to the box....that's how I did it. The night before the move when I had it all packed I actually was excited....the next day the movers came and things went smoothly - even the movers who didn't know me said my new place was so "light and airy" compared to the old.