How To Deal With Being Homesick At College
Moving away for college can be stressful in many different ways. Your parents will not be there anymore to cook your dinner, wash your clothes, or remind you to do your chores. All these feelings will culminate when they drop you off and drive away and you will feel what many call homesickness. It is a terrible, lonely feeling in your heart that longs for the past, but do not worry! Here are a couple ways to deal with being homesick at college.
Recognize the symptoms.
Homesickness can be a combinations of many different unpleasant feelings, like nostalgia, depression, and anxiety. If you already have some of these symptoms, feeling homesick in college can exasperate them. If you are thinking of harming yourself or others, please seek professional help at the counseling offices that are present across many different campus university. There is no shame for seeking professional help when needed. If you believe your symptoms are manageable by yourself, try these tips below.
Plan when you can visit your home.
Homesickness affects you the most when you believe that you will never see your home, your family, and your friends again.So, the best way to lessen your grief is understand that home is never completely gone. Sure, you may be gone for months, and your fears and inhibitions may make themselves more prominent in your psyche but by understanding the limited distance between you and you’re home, that pain lessens. Having a date in your mind of your return also helps you to enjoy your current environment. Instead of thinking again and again about home, just remember a date, and your mind will learn to relax. Eventually, you might be able to enjoy your time because you will understand that home is coming soon and your present situation is temporary.
Go out!
The longer you stay inside and isolated, the deeper the pain and longing will become being homesick at college. The only true cure for homesickness at college is to make your new location your new home. Growing and evolving will aid you in becoming your own person, something much harder to do with your family constantly behind you. Make new friends, go to parties, and enjoy yourself. Let your worries go and live in the moment.
Bring with you the stuff you enjoyed doing with you to college.
The worst thing to be is stagnant in college. For one, it will not help your grades if your energy is too depleted to actually focus on your work and class. For another thing, bringing stuff with you can help with being homesick at college because it will inch you into being comfortable in a new situation and environment. Homesickness is not as curable as being afraid of the cold temperature of a pool. You cannot jump straight into a new and different environment and have your body adapt to it with only a quick shock. Homesickness is psychological and the best way to get over it is by using psychology. Using familiar things will help ease you into your new environment and help you overcome being homesick at college.
Stay Positive
Another psychological trick to overcome homesickness in college is to stay positive. Doing this in itself will already be a difficult task due to having to worry about papers, tests, and the looming specter of the real world closing in on your still growing mind, body, and psyche. The best way to overcome these challenges is through sheer willpower. It is also the hardest way to do it. Forcing yourself to smile may sound weird, but do not assume we mean a Joker-esque insane smile. Just force yourself to look at the bright side and turn the ends of your lips upward.
