Moving abroad is huge decision, one that brings on a wide
spectrum of emotions, from excitement to fear, from stress to delight. An extremely common emotion during the expat process is homesickness.
It is an almost inevitable part in the great transition of moving abroad that
can detrimentally affect the entire experience.
Here are five useful steps to help beat
the blues:
1. Socialise: get involved in as many activities and organisations
as possible. Taking up a new hobby is a great way to keep distracted and meet
new people. Immersing yourself in a new routine will help detach you from the
aspects of home life that you are missing most.
2. Home comforts: If
you are feeling particularly homesick try to do something that you associate
with home. For instance watch a television programme or film that reminds you
of home, or eat food that you would normally have at home.
3. Talk: “A problem
shared is a problem halved” - If you feel really down, talk to someone about
it. Even if they can’t do something to directly help, getting an issue off your
chest will make you feel better. Also, talk to the friends and family that you
miss from home. Not too regularly however as too much contact will only make
you miss them more. Try to work a Skype session into your routine, maybe once
or twice a week.
4. Get away: Take a
day trip to somewhere new that you think you would enjoy. Getting away but not
going home may give you a fresh perspective on your situation plus a change of
scenery may distract you from your worries.
5. Stay positive: wallowing in your own sadness will not
help how you feel, except probably make you feel worse. Try to spend as much
time as possible around people instead of suffering in silence on your own.
Overall it is important to throw yourself in at the deep
end. Immerse yourself in your new location, attempt to learn as much about the
culture, and meet as many people, as you can.
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Nothing cures American homesick blues like a peanut butter and jelly or fluffernutter sandwich! :)
ReplyDeleteGood advice on the getting away tip. A lot of people probably over look that one!
1. Close your eyes, picture your favourite place at home and just breathe it in, keep breathing,until the homesickness disappears- it does eventually
ReplyDelete2. If you can't be at home (or in Canada) find a place where you are now where you get the feeling you could be home!! I found a lake and I go there and pretend!
I've been an expat for over 30 (!!) years and I still get those homesickness attacks!
London expat and psychologist Ana Mariana did a survey/study among expats about nostalgia. In her Master's thesis she posed these ideas:
ReplyDeleteHomesickness is an emotion that tends to lead one into a negative emotional spiral, which can lead to depression and dysfunction.
Nostalgia is a normal psychological ‘defense mechanism’ that is used to fight against the negativity of homesickness and turn it around for good.
We did a webinar with her that went into this in some depth. You can find it on our site.
Great article! I'm going to repost it on my blog as well. I was surprised to experience a small wave of homesickness last week after 4 years of living abroad. It's good to share the human condition.
ReplyDelete