Any tips to help with being homesick ?

Being Homesick,
It is important to be aware of homesickness as a normal process which you may go through when you are leaving home for a new country to study or work.

Homesickness can include ...

• being miserable without knowing why
• feeling like a prisoner in your own room/flat/house
• being unable to get into a reassuring routine
• not liking meals because the atmosphere doesn't feel right
• wondering what people at home are doing; feeling as if you are missing out
• wanting to go home straight after you have arrived in a party
• being conscious you are doing things out of character
• thinking you are the only person with homesick feelings
• being unable to settle anything
• crying for no reason
• getting anxious or upset about little things that used not to bother you
• finding the values of people around you strange and vaguely threatening
• getting fed up with new food, new smells, new scenery, and wanting the familiar
• an experience, a state of feeling that will pass, sooner or later

So what can be done to deal with homesickness?

Survival Tips

• set your room up with something familiar from home
• make an effort to talk to someone new every now and again
• If you are a sharing a place with some people ,try to leave your bedroom door open sometimes when you are sitting in your room; They might pass by and will hopefully stop to say 'hello'
• get into activities which build up a storehouse of good new memories for you
• talk to someone else about how you feel – any foreigners will feel much the same as you do now
• respond to the invitations of others to places or events where you will meet more people
• if you have been involved in a religious or other national or international group at home, see if you can contact the local branch where you are now leaving
• it is hard to let go of home, but ringing home too often in the first few weeks may prolong homesickness for you
• recognise that this is a grief experience. Have a good cry; it's nothing to be ashamed of, when you're really feeling down.
• jot down thoughts, experiences and dreams in a journal, and try to make some sense out of the different pieces
• Get some help from a counsellor to work out creative ways to deal with how you feel( Mindfull living,choosing your thoughts when waking up............)
• be kind to yourself - it is OK to miss home and perfectly normal. After all, you have spent most of your life there until now, so tears can be cleansing.

Any other tips ?Looking forward to reading your tips .Thanks and take care, P