Moving away from home can be the biggest adventure of your life. Exploring a new city. Making new friends. Settling into a new routine. Everything about the new can be exciting. However, there’s another side of moving away that doesn’t get spoken about quite so much. I’m talking about homesickness. Homesickness can be the worst feeling. Constantly wanting to go back, but knowing that you left for a reason. Missing your family, missing out on events and missing everything that was normal. I’ve been there. In fact I’m still there, I’m perhaps more homesick than I’ve ever been before. The good news: coping with homesickness can be hard, but it does get easier over time. Here’s my guide to dealing with homesickness.

Focus on why you left.

Maybe it was for university. Or a new job. Maybe you left because you were moving because you’re getting married. Just think, whatever the reason, it can give you a purpose to focus on. As sad as being away from home is, you left for bigger things and that can give you hope. Focus on the reason, on all you’ve got ahead of you.

Keep in contact with home

After seeing your family, or friends, every single day, going cold turkey and not having any contact would make homesickness even harder. Keep in contact with your loved ones. Speak to them as often as suits you. If you find speaking to them gets you upset, keep in contact but don’t ring them too often. If, like me, you can’t stand the thought of not speaking to your family then ring them as much as you can. I probably ring my mum about 3 times a day- usually with some made up excuse to speak to her just because I miss her. With some friends, we write letters to each other. I love that as a way of keeping in contact because it seems so much more thoughtful and personal. Find a method of contact that works for you and keep in touch.

Always know when you’re next going home

Knowing when you’ll next be home can give you something to look forward to. Have a countdown to going back. It will help you know that actually, it’s not that long until you see your family and friends. If you can squeeze in an extra visit between now and your next planned one then even better! Sometimes, the spontaneous trips home are the best.

Give yourself a day off if you need it

Homesickness can feel just as hard to deal with as actual sickness. So if you need a day off to just chill and feel sorry for yourself, then allow it. I’ve felt ridiculously homesick for the past few days and so I’ve used today as a me day. I had a pamper morning, then spent the afternoon curled up on bed watching Grey’s Anatomy whilst eating popcorn. Do you know what? I actually feel better for just taking a day to chill. I think days like today make me consider my homesickness and realise that being here does have some perks (like being able to spend all day in my pyjamas without being told off). Maybe your day off will include hanging with friends, or maybe a walk in nature, maybe you’ll treat yourself to some retail therapy (if so then check out TheNeedToLive’s top deals)

So, that’s my guide to dealing with homesickness. Do you have any tips? If so, I’d love for you to share them with me in the comments below!

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