You may be the most outgoing individual out there or completely introverted, either way, it’s not uncommon for someone of any background to experience homesickness. Whether you are travelling far and wide to start University, or just commuting into the city, it is completely normal and completely valid. Whoever you are, you don’t need to tackle it on your own so today, you can sit down with me and listen to my tips of how to help those feelings wash away.
Keep yourself distracted
This involves saying yes to things, putting yourself out of your comfort zone, and generally getting yourself out there! Whether it’s moving your study plans to the library or common room rather than your bedroom, signing up to a society, or trying to join in with things you never usually would, a lot of the time, you’re mind will be so focused on the new task or environment that you might even forget about your homesickness all together.
One of my favourite things to do when I’m feeling in a bit of a rut is to jam-pack my days. Instead of going to Uni then coming home, arrange to meet some friends after, start the day early with a run, plan a late-night study session; keeping the plans rolling will really help keep your mind of any niggling worries.
Limit home visits
As much as you’ll want to go home every weekend, sometimes keeping constant contact can just make you feel worse. A quick phone call home every evening to check-in is perfect, you get to update your family on what’s been happening without seeing exactly what you’re missing. Plus, you should be able to tell them about all of the different things you’ve been doing with your days and, as you begin to receive praise, you’re only going to want to do it more and more.
Know that it’s okay!
Whether it’s the dog you’re missing, your Gran, or simply the corner of your bedroom that makes you feel cosiest, it’s completely fine to miss these things. After all, these are the things that you have most likely grown up with and formed an unbreakable bond with. When you move to University, by no means do these bonds have to break - feeling homesick is a completely normal and common thing to experience and, no matter how bad it feels, there will always be a way to feel better. Every University has a support team, well equipped for dealing with any of your worries and, believe it or not, a lot of your friends will probably be feeling this way too, so it’s completely fine to have a little chat.
Limit it to 3 words if you need to: ‘Distract. Limit. Share’. Keep your mind away from your worries, limit the time you have to think about these thoughts, and don’t be scared to share these thoughts. As we all know, a problem shared is a problem halved, and, when it’s a problem as universal as this, we all have a lot of halving that we can help with.
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