The Predicament

Hanson’s one-bedroom apartment isn’t bad by student standards, but its bareness emphasized her losses. “We all do better with a sense that we’re surrounded by familiar things,” says psychiatrist Eve A. Wood, author of There’s Always Help; There’s Always Hope (Hay House, $15, www.amazon.com). “These details can be deeply healing.”

What She Likes

The safety of an apartment building.

Plenty of sunlight.

Generous floor space for yoga and stretching.

What She Dislikes

Bare walls painted flat white.

Blah wall-to-wall carpeting.

A messy assortment of scavenged belongings.