The feelings of nostalgia and longing that many people experience when away from home for an extended period of time are quite common and natural. Homesickness can cause people to become less focused on their current responsibilities or even become depressed and unmotivated. Whether it is a college student living in a college dormitory for the first time or a soldier assigned to overseas duty, these feeling can become a serious matter that need to addressed. Both creating a space that reminds you of home and finding ways to be more present in your current environment can help you relieve homesickness.
One thing you can do is to create a personal space and fill it with small reminders of home. Photographs of friends and family, mementos of special events, greeting cards from loved ones, or newspaper clippings from a hometown newspaper can all be used to create a comforting emotional connection. When feelings of sadness and loneliness become too much to handle, a few minutes spent in that personal space may help you gain some perspective on the present versus the past.
Another way to relieve homesickness is to make a conscious effort to live in the present. The decision to leave your familiar environment may not have been completely yours to make, but there can be comfort in the old adage to "bloom where you are planted." By taking a more active interest in your present environment, you may be able to push any unhappy feelings to your mind's back burner. Staying productive or actively engaged in the present is a good way to keep thoughts of the past or future in check.
Many people find that missing home never fully goes away, but it does ebb and flow. When you are feeling extremely homesick, a short but meaningful call to a relative or friend may be enough to calm your feelings of anxiety or isolation. Reading a hometown newspaper online or subscribing to a print newspaper from home can also provide enough of a connection to keep you up to date without becoming consumed with sadness.
Forming new friendships may also help you feel less homesick while away temporarily. By sharing details of your own hometown with others who may also be missing home, you may find strength in numbers. Almost everyone has stories about a favorite restaurant, teen hang-out, or other local attraction, so swapping stories can be a good way to see how others are coping with their own feelings.
Some people who have a very difficult overcoming the effects of extreme homesickness may need to seek professional or pastoral counseling in order to gain some perspective. Prescription drugs for anxiety or depression may also help certain people elevate their moods and stop intrusive thoughts from forming in the first place. Eventually, however, many people find their own ways of coping, and the debilitating pangs of missing home lessen in time.
