How to Deal with Homesickness

Most of us who have been living away from home would vouch for the fact that in the initial weeks of leaving home, a shroud of uneasiness overwhelms the mind. It could be because of the pressure of adjusting in the new environment or could be separation anxiety. Whatever it was, sooner or later we have all found out our individual ways to handle homesickness or the same, uneasiness.

I would give you my example. I left home for further studies when I was barely 17. It was a big leap for me. An entirely different environment welcomed me when I first stepped into my college hostel. I was taken aback. I missed my plate when I sat down to eat, I missed my pillow when I went to bed, I missed my usual walk to the park in the evening, as if I missed every moment of my life, as if I were living someone else's life. Sounds funny? Yes, to me it does, now.

The feeling that something was missing left me once I got used to my new life. It took time, it did. I would never get used to this world, or so I thought. But slowly I stopped missing my pillow (I started liking my new one) and started enjoying my early morning walk to the college. I made new friends and my roommates became my new family. Today when I think of it, I can't remember how I felt, I have forgotten that feeling of emptiness...

Why am I Lonely?

Anyway, talking about homesickness, it is a common feeling that veils a person when he is away from the comfort zone of his home. The nearest term to describe homesickness would be nostalgia. It is a feeling of separation from home, home related objects, can be people (as in family) or your personal belongings. Homesickness leads to uneasiness and the person tends to become sad, upset and sometimes it leads to fear and depression. The dictionary meaning of homesickness would be, "sad or depressed from a longing for home or family while away from them for a long time". Basically, it is a cause of concern in case your child suffers from pangs of homesickness while he is away at a friend's place and how to deal with it is something you should look into seriously.

How do I Feel Better?

So, what's the solution? The answer lies within you. The answer is initiative. The answer is strong will. The answer is patience.

I Shall Find the Root Cause
Simple, find the cause of your uneasiness. You need to first know why you are not comfortable. Whether you are missing your family, friends, your home, the food, the lifestyle, or is it that you are not able to adjust to the new surroundings. So, the first thing to do is, to find out if you are actually homesick or not and if you are, then what is the reason behind it!! Once you know the cause, dealing with it would become easier.

I Shall Work Towards It
There are several simple ideas that you can implement to get over your feeling of nostalgia, your longing for home.

• If it is your family that you are missing, the solution is simple. Talk. Talk to your parents and your siblings on a daily basis. Exchange the minutest detail of how you spent your day. This would make life a little easier as your bonding with them would not break, even if it is dependent on a few telephone wires. Try and head home once in a while to melt that physical distance.
• Apply the same in case of friends; nothing's better than a reunion once a year. Those few hours of catching up would rejuvenate you to such an extent that you would cherish the moments for months to come.

Now, what to do in case the reason is the new place? Actually, you have plenty of options to divert your mind.

• Like they say, you gotta live so you gotta live. Try and accept your present situation. You are here, and here for good, so jump into your new life and accept the challenge. Get out of your shell, talk to people, make friends and spend as much time with people as possible.
• Socializing is the key. Join salsa classes, enter some trek group, plan outings with friends, colleagues, enjoy your college life. Try and explore the city, trust me familiarity leads to belongingness.
• You belong to a great place and it is your chance to make your family and friends proud. Concentrate on your studies/work and try to excel. Challenge yourself and your performance and try to do better every time. This would not only boost up your confidence, but would keep you pre-occupied. Your aim would keep you going and one fine day, without you realizing it, the emptiness would vanish into thin air.

In case your child tends to get homesick, you need to be careful as your child's mind is very delicate and homesickness can cause irreparable damage.

• The child must participate in as many activities as possible when away on a school tour or camp. The busy schedule would not give him the chance to miss home.
• Of course, keeping in touch is the best way. Talk to your child at regular intervals and encourage him to excel in the activities.
• You can also encourage him to maintain a diary of all the events and activities happening at the camp or all the places that he visits in his trip. It would divert his mind and he would be all excited to fill in every detail so that he can describe it to you.
• If your child feels homesick, make him realize that it is common and that he is smart enough to overcome the feeling.
• Let him carry at least one of his closest things, be it a pillow or his favorite toy car, so that he can relate to the new environment with a little ease.

Homesickness is a state of mind and if you make efforts, it is simple to overcome. However, it is a little more complicated in case of kids and it entirely depends upon how parents deal with it.

If you ask me, however, I would say, get up and get going. No one has told you to forget your folks back home. No one wants you to sit in your room and cry and sulk. Sounds clichéd, but where there's a will there's a way, right? You need to find a way out. After all, for what joy did you download that Skype on your laptop the other day?