Scared of Homesickness While Studying Abroad? Here are the Reasons and Solutions

 

“Home is where your Heart is!”

 

Homesickness is feeling down and troubled remembering your home when you are away from it. It may sound like a little funny thing but believe me it can be real tough getting over it. Even the strongest personalities and minds suffer from it like a little kid when they are away from their home, friends and family for their study, jobs or other businesses. When I had decided my study abroad destination and was totally prepared to move there, I had to live outside my home city for few months. That is when I realized how much I had underestimated homesickness and how difficult it can be to start a living far away from your home.

 

·         See: Is it Difficult to Study in Non-English Countries

 

The first most difficult time comes when you are saying good-byes to your family and heading to airport or station. You feel a really heavy weight on your chest and feel like crying no matter how strong you are. Once you have reached your destination, you get very busy settling there in chores like unpacking, finding routes and all other formal submissions to university or college. Then, with the passage of time, you get used to the place but there do come lots of moments when you feel like running your way back to home. If you also had this thought and now you are scared to move to a foreign country, this article will really calm your fears. Here I have shared with you, with the sponsorship of StudyAbroad team, all these instances when you will suffer homesickness and how you can overcome them, through my personal experiences.

 

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“Home is not a place, it’s a feeling”

 

This is no breaking news that you will definitely miss your family when you are out in another country but the problem is it brings homesickness with it. This the biggest cause of homesickness. No matter what you are doing, you suddenly hit a thought of your family members. You are used to a routine that you share and spend with your family, when you start a new daily life routing, you are sure to miss your family.

 

For example, every morning when you wake, you usually see a family members face like mother or sister who brings you breakfast. But in a foreign country waking up will not be the same and this is when you will remember your mother, sister or any other family member and her breakfast. Though you never cherish the moment in present but when you will feel and see the picture in your mind in slow motion with a little background soft music making it more beautiful and attractive.

 

Now if you have got the idea of what I was trying to explain, now comes the question. How do we solve this issue? First of all you must know that this all is temporary, it goes away with time. In starting time, to get over this stress you should keep contacting your family as much as you can. For instance, when waking up, you should call your family member. This way you will feel like sharing the moment with them and won’t feel alone. Keep this routine for all your little works and gradually you will not even feel the urge to contact them.

 

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“Good Food and a Warm Kitchen are what make a House a Home.”

 

There is no taste like home even if you are in a five star restaurant. After moving to strange foreign country you will face a huge cultural difference which directly affects your diet. Now you whether cook yourself, eat out or get home delivery; you just can’t get your home food. When you are eating, especially when the food is not tasty, you directly hit the home emotion’s nerve and it again makes you sad missing the home food yet causing another reason of homesickness.

 

·         See: Biggest Fear Students Face When Going Abroad for Education

 

When eating, in spite of comparing it with your home food, you should value the new taste and flavors. This way, food will be tastier and you won’t be missing homemade food. Do remember and train your mind with it that you will eventually go back to your family and enjoy their taste for the rest of your life but this what you have now is temporary make it an experience and memory.

 

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“Good Friends Are Like Stars. You Don’t Always See Them, But You Know They Are Always There.”

 

You don’t just get a group of friends as you move to a new place. Best friends are not made they just become your best friends. So, it is better to prepare your mind that when you will start a new life in a foreign country, you will have to suffer from loneliness. Being lonely, you will without a doubt get homesick. When you will see other students and people with buddies hanging out and having fun, you might cry a little inside.

 

Solution to this problem is not difficult because the aftermaths of this problem are the most fun part of moving abroad. Of course, you will not have your old friends there but I would this is for the best as you will meet new people and there make new amazing friends that will illuminate the fun of your life even further. For start few days or weeks, you will be alone but gradually you will get friends with whom you enjoy your time and like to be with them. They will be of entirely different country, religion, color, language and culture from yours but that makes it even more incredible.

 

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“There Is Nothing Like Staying Home For Real Comfort.”

 

Nothing even compares the comfort you feel at the home but the worst thing is that you realize when are going to bed, eating or relaxing in a foreign country after you have left home. Again comes the homesickness and sadness, recollecting the memories of your own room and bed. This is another phase you must be prepared to face.

 

Home is the most comfortable place for you in the entire universe where you can relax without any fear or tensions, no argument about it. But you have move out of your comfort zone for further development. You can only grow if you are enthusiastic to feel weird and uncomfortable when you attempt something new. Keep this passion in mind and remember that it is temporary; it will help you fight the homesickness.

 

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Unless you are a superhero, you are definitely going to be sick after some amount of time. It may be the worst time you will ever have to face in a foreign country because once you are suffering from a disease and on top of that you will miss the family members who used to take care of you at such times and you will be feeling vulnerable. But this time you will most probably have to take care of yourself.

 

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Try to acquire the help of a good friend at such times without any hesitation and talk to your family on Skype or some other media so won’t feel alone. Being alone is the worst thing you could do with yourself when sick. If you will have a friend there with you, he/she can easily manage time for you if it is just about two or three days until you are back on your feet.

 

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Their come times in one’s life when he/she is overcome by emotions. We only take physical illness into account though mental sickness is also as common. When you are overcome by an emotion like Sadness, Happiness, Anger, frustration etc. you need someone to be there for you. These feelings come very often by little things around you so it’s usually not easy to ignore them. In this position you again recall home. This position takes away your ability to think.

 

Be prepared for such problems as you will have to face them at times if you are disrespected, you had a fight or someone played with your feelings. To avoid them, it is important to have confidence in yourself that you have a strong personality and that what other say or do, does not concern you. Have a psychiatrist or friend with you to share your feelings and keep contacting your family and friends back in home. Other than that, yoga and long walks are also very good cure.