Feeling homesick? These strategies can help you overcome it
What's the story
No matter how exciting it is to start university or a job in a new city or country, the overwhelming feeling of missing our home creeps in often. While it is natural to feel homesick, it has the potential to hinder our daily functioning. When "home is where the heart is" and sadly, both are away from you, apply these strategies to feel better.
Process it
Allow yourself to feel homesick for a while
Staying strong does not mean you have to suppress or ignore your emotions. Instead, it is to deal with them. When feeling homesick, allow it to get the better of you. Cry, write down your emotions, or do anything that helps you process and express it. However, put a time limit to your wallowing and then step out of it once over.
Action
Keep yourself busy with productive activities
While your new room is your safe haven, spending too much inside it can aggravate homesickness. Keep yourself busy with productive activities like decorating it or cleaning around. You can also enroll in an extra-curricular activity to stay occupied if you have too much time at hand. On weekends, you can also do a part-time job to earn extra and stay busy.
Communication
Stay in touch with family but in moderation
Feeling homesick and not interacting with your kin thinking that it will make you more emotional can backfire in multiple ways. Instead, stay in touch with your loved ones, whether it is through phone calls or social media. However, the trick is to limit yourself from engaging too much. Try to not have long conversations, deep talks, or nostalgic interactions.
Information
Here's how you can
When on a call with family or friends, stay in the present moment and hold the conversations around the new destination you are at. Invite ideas on how you can make your new home more beautiful or discuss your day at the university or workplace.
Break the loop
Step out and explore everything around your new location
One of the main reasons we feel homesick is when we spend too much time indoors. Hence, break the loop and step out. Explore your new surroundings, find your go-to stores for grocery shopping, and check out some interesting local places where you can while away your time. While you are at it, you can initiate interactions with your neighbors or make new friends.
Connections
Spend time with natives of your own city or country
Happiness is when you find someone from the same city or country as you at a location so foreign! Many people travel from afar to pursue higher education or work. Hence, if not today, you will find a buddy or a group of them in the near future. They could be mutual connections or studying/working at your university/workplace.