A Few Practical Ways to Deal with Homesickness

A Few Practical Ways to Deal with Homesickness

• Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Moving away from a place where you feel comfortable and have family and friends surrounding you can be one of the biggest challenges you will ever face. However, there are a lot of things you can do to overcome this challenge. You can take a challenging situation and turn it into something positive if you have the right attitude and are determined to make your move a success.

Many have found that they can successfully cope with homesickness by surrounding themselves with things that are familiar to them. First, this would involve keeping in touch with family and friends back home. Write letters, send instant messages, and have live online chats with your family and friends on a regular basis. While you may not be there physically, you can definitely keep up with family and friends if you put effort into it.

Second, have items in your home or engage in activities that are familiar to you. For example, you may want to decorate your home in a way that is associated with your previous environment. For example, if you are from the northern part of the United States, you may want to set up one room in your home like a cabin. Or if you are from the Southwest, you may want to look for Sedona home décor and have Southwest style decorations in one room in your home. The idea is to create a space that is familiar and comfortable for you.

While you definitely want things in your new environment to remind you of your old environment, be determined to not dwell in the past. This means taking advantage of new opportunities that are presented to you. Work hard to make new friends. Try to appreciate the beauty of your new surroundings. Get involved in activities that will help you feel comfortable in your new home and city.

Try to look at the big picture. Think of how you want to look back at this situation 10 years from now. You likely do not want to look back and see an individual who spent too much of their time depressed and sad. Instead, you want to see the reality of the fact that you felt homesick, but you did something about it. You tried new things, you met new people, and you made the best of your new situation.