You have moved to a new city (or even to a new country). Maybe you had to start a new job, go to a different school, or move for some other, more personal reason. It doesn’t matter why you had to move, even if you are the strongest person alive, you will feel homesick at one point.
Usually, homesickness strikes as soon as we move – we start missing everybody and everything we are familiar with. Over time, those strange feelings disappear and we get used to our new life. However, there are occasions when homesickness doesn’t disappear on its own because it is too strong.
This is when you have to start handling it. Homesickness can be overwhelming and if you don’t handle and ‘treat’ it properly and on time it may turn into feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and even depression. Don’t let that happen – here are some ways to handle it.
1. Let Yourself Be Homesick for a While
Maybe one of the most crucial things about homesickness is that it has to be felt. So, don’t run away from it. Experience it, be sad, miss your home, cry over your faraway friends and family members, etc. Simply, let yourself be homesick for a while. That is a completely normal thing. If you just push this problem away and pretend it is not there, you will only make things a lot worse. If you want to live a happy and healthy life, you need to experience and work on all aspects of it – both good and bad.
However, just because letting yourself be homesick is okay doesn’t mean that you should let yourself feel like that for too long. That is not the way to handle it. You should give yourself some time (a couple of days) to wallow. But, if these feelings of homesickness don’t disappear, you need to get some help.
2. Talk to Somebody About It
As previously mentioned, if the feelings of homesickness don’t disappear after a couple of days (or after a week or two), you should talk to somebody about it. Our advice is to talk to your favorite people first. Talk to your best friends, your mom, your grandfather, etc. Usually, seeing (even over Skype) your missed people can make you handle your homesickness.
But, if that doesn’t help either, then you should seek professional help. Again, there is nothing wrong with that! We all know that homesickness can be overwhelming, so talk to an expert about it. With today’s technology, you can make your virtual healthcare appointment and talk to any kind of health specialist you need online.
3. Bring a Bit of Home With You
Another great way to overcome homesickness is to bring a bit of home with you. For instance, you can pack your favorite chair, bed set, pillow, throw, etc. Or you can pack things that remind you of the home such as candles you used to burn, photos that hung on your walls, etc. If you want, you can bring your entire home too. Guys from Homegrown Moving Company can make that happen quickly and easily.
Moreover, if you had a pet back home, you can consider bringing it to your new home. Your pet is probably your best friend, so, if possible, take it with you, don’t leave it with your family and friends. That pet can be one of the best ways to deal with homesickness and one of the best ways to handle it.
4. Find New Friends
One of the reasons homesickness can be overwhelming is loneliness. You are far away from home, your closest people are not around, and you don’t know anybody in your city. But, there is an easy fix for this – find some new friends. Of course, these new friends will never be the friends back home, but they can become one if you give them a chance. With people around you, you can manage stress efficiently, stop being lonely, overcome homesickness, and even cure depression.
Your potential friends can be anywhere – your first neighbors, your new colleagues, or even somebody you meet at a coffee shop. So, don’t be afraid to make the first step and say ‘hello’! Moreover, don’t give up if you get rejected, there are plenty of fish in the sea. Keep putting yourself out there, and you will certainly find a friend, or maybe even something bigger than that.
5. Do Something for Yourself Every Once in a While
You moved to a new city all alone – that transition can be tricky. But, in order to overcome homesickness, do something nice for yourself as soon as you unpack those bags and settle in. Most people like to reward themselves after a job well done – this transition is a job well done! So, do something that feels nice. You can treat yourself to a nice meal or you can go shopping.
Moreover, you can do something you always wanted but didn’t have the time for. That can be any wish of yours – joining a cycling class, going camping, buying that expensive laptop, etc. You may think that these things won’t help you overcome homesickness, but you are wrong. Treating yourself nicely and doing nice things for yourself will, above all things, make you take your mind off your problems and allow you to have fun and feel happy.
6. Be Busy
Sometimes, we just need to make ourselves busy to overcome homesickness. If you have too much free time and if you spend all of that time closed in your new home, your homesickness can escalate. The only way to deal with this is to book all of your free time. When you are not working or studying – go outside. Meet the neighbors, explore the city, join a book club, sign up for gym class and motivate yourself to train harder, find a new hobby, etc.
When you are outside doing these things, you will also meet new people and thus, stop being lonely. This is another benefit of keeping yourself busy and socially active. So, give it a go. Give all the advice from above a go. Homesickness is something you have to work on, so don’t be lazy, and most importantly, don’t think that nothing can help – many things can help handle it.
