How To Deal With Homesickness

Being homesick is all part of Freshers’ Week, especially if you’ve moved quite far away from home. You’re not alone in missing living at home and don’t think you have to snap out of it as soon as you start lectures.

The best way to deal with homesickness is not to dwell on it or count down the days until you go home. It’s fine to be looking forward to seeing your friends and family at home but ticking the days off your calendar can make you feel disconnected from university life.

Here are some more tips for dealing with homesickness at university:

It won’t always be like Freshers’ Week

If you’re not a natural social butterfly then the constant partying, drinking, and socialising can seem more like hard work than fun – but it won’t always be like that. Once Freshers’ Week is over you’ll probably find that everyone becomes a lot more “normal” and life settles down a bit.

Make yourself at home

You probably won’t be able to take all your worldly possessions with you to university but taking things like your favourite posters, photos, books, and DVDs with you will help you settle in.

Get into a routine

You can feel a bit all over the place when you first move to university so establishing a routine early will help you feel more settled. Whether it’s dedicating one day a week to washing and food shopping or having a regular Monday night pamper session find a routine that suits you.

Join clubs and societies

Unfortunately there’s no guarantee that you’ll get on with the people you live with so getting involved with a club or society is a great way to meet like-minded people.

Whether it’s a sports club, religious group, academic organisation, or ultimate Frisbee society you’re bound to find someone who likes the same things as you. Alternatively, use joining a society as a chance to try something new and exciting.

Either way, it beats sitting alone in bed with just a jar of Nutella and a spoon for company!