Moving away from home in any situation is hard to deal with. No matter how excited you are, you will more than likely experience homesickness at one point in your life. Today I will be sharing a few tips on how to deal with homesickness.
- Don’t be too hard on yourself
- Oftentimes, people will beat themselves up for having these feelings. Remember that it is completely normal and most students will deal with this at one time or another. Just know that you aren’t weird, strange or weak for feeling this way. In my opinion, this is the most important thing to know about being homesick.
- Talk it out
- Whenever I feel homesick, I always try to get in contact with my parents. Whether that means a call, a text or time spent on FaceTime with them, talking to them always makes me feel a lot better. If for some reason they can’t talk to you, try to talk to your friends about it. Friends will either be able to relate to you and talk about it or help take your mind off of it.
- Get distracted
- There are so many ways you can take your mind off things: you can watch a movie or TV show, have a spa night, hangout with your friends, browse the aisles at Target, online shop, etc. One important thing to remember is to try not to be alone in your room, because then you are more likely to stay upset and less likely to keep your mind occupied. You may need to push yourself to feel better, so you will have to get up and do things.
- Bring things from home
- This might be one of the easier ways to feel better about being away from home because you will be able to have something that gives you a connection with home or that is comforting. Personally, I have my baby blanket and pillow from home, so those things make me feel a little bit better. It’s like having a travel size hug from home with you at school.
- Ask for help
- Sometimes the things that I previously mentioned are just not enough to help your homesickness, and that is totally fine. In these cases, it is important to reach out for help. Do not feel like this is an awful thing to ask for. A lot of people just need to talk to someone who really knows the best ways to help you. I go to therapy as a way to balance my anxiety and it is nice just to be able to talk to someone who understands what I’m saying and has a way to help me feel better, whether that is through giving suggestions on different coping mechanisms or just through talking it out.