Are you struggling with homesickness after leaving home for a while? Here are some tips to make it easier and to help you feel better!
I can still remember that first phone call home during my first week of college, where I was balling my eyes out, asking my mom if I could please leave and come home. What made the situation even sadder was that I was in the bathroom stall of my dorm room crying because I didn’t feel comfortable enough to cry and self-soothe myself in my own dorm room with my roommate I had just met days ago.
At least when I was at home, I could run to my room and cry if I wanted to do so alone. But not this time; I was stuck literally and figuratively. I called my mom in panic and sadness with one of the worst feelings I had experienced up until that moment in my life: extreme homesickness.
I remember her empathizing with me and telling me that homesickness is just something you have to go through and that running home won’t help in the long run. Of course, I am happy she didn’t let me come home. Still, at that moment, I can remember a pit in my stomach and sheer panic feeling stuck in what felt like the most difficult position, being far away from home and everything I knew and missing my family like no other.
If you’ve been away from home for any time, you have probably experienced homesickness at some point. The degree of homesickness can vary depending on how much of an emotional connection you have with your home or hometown, but it can still be difficult to deal with.
However, I want you to know that it does get easier, and the more you get used to being away from home, the less difficult it will be. So here is some of my best advice for dealing with homesickness.
Schedule Visits Home
Your homesickness will be easier to manage when you schedule your visits home ahead of time, as it will give you something to look forward to and make the time go by faster.
Set A New Routine For Your New Home
If you recently moved and are feeling homesick, try to find your new go-to places and a new routine that will begin to make you feel more at home. It can allow you to adjust more easily, and slowly but surely, you will find yourself missing home less.
Schedule Zoom Dates With Your Fam
Luckily, being away doesn’t have to mean not seeing your family all the time, thanks to our phones! You can call and see your fur babes and family multiple times when you schedule and set up times to catch up. Try your best to let yourself adapt in the first month and try to be as much in the moment in your new home but having those weekly calls can help you settle in and adapt and still feel connected!
Know You’re Not Alone
Whether you are a freshman in college or an adult moving away from your hometown, there are millions of people that are going through the same experience. Sometimes, what makes homesickness feel worse is feeling alone with those feelings, but the facts are most people experience homesickness at some point in their life.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Joining a new club or social group will force you to get out of your comfort zone and open you up to the possibility of making new friends! Making friends as an adult may feel awkward, but just know you’re not alone, and there are several easy ways to do so if you just try.
Keep in Touch with Your Friends From Back Home
Just because you can’t see your friends in person doesn’t mean you can’t still keep in touch with them! Modern technology and social media have made it easier than ever to stay connected to your loved ones back home. Schedule a weekly Zoom call with your squad or start a group chat where you can drop in and check on each other throughout the week.
Be Patient
The most important thing is to be patient with yourself. I remember my first few months after having moved into college and to Dallas having that wave of homesickness and realizing that I had just willingly agreed to move halfway across the country. Unfortunately, a deep wave of panic overwhelmed my emotions and made me both want to cry and buy a plane ticket back.
The best way to describe these transitions was like ripping a bandaid off. It will hurt in that first month, and in those first few days, it will be a HUGE adjustment, but once you get into your new flow, you adapt, and that pain subsides.
