Homesickness at uni

Aleastraw20

How do I handle the homesickness at uni

Reply 1

MOBUoS

Official Rep

Original post

by Aleastraw20

How do I handle the homesickness at uni

Hi @Aleastraw20,

It is perfectly natural to feel homesick after moving to uni. Your university should have services to help you if you are feeling like this. I would contact your university's wellbeing team, who will be able to talk to you about possible stategies to help or signpost you to other services that can support you better. You may find that even the initial chat helps to relieve the feeling a little bit. There are also charities around with support lines that you could call if you wanted.

I hope this is useful
Matthew
Student Ambassador

Reply 2

Tsaphire

Original post

by Aleastraw20

How do I handle the homesickness at uni

I feel you I’m a first year too been in accommodation for two days and every evening I’ve cried lowkey it’s so tough I feel you, I find texting and calling family and friends is the best thing

Reply 3

McGinger

Tip - everyday write a comment on a post-it note about something nice that happened.Something that made you laugh, something interesting in class, something lovely you saw, etc etc.Stick these up on the wall in your room, and within a few days you will have lots of positive experiences to reflect on.

Today, Sunday, talk to other people in your flat/housing. Suggest that some of you go to the cinema or for a coffee in town etc. Friendships take a while to get going, but you have to do some of the 'suggesting' to establish the links with people. Yes, it'll feel a bit forced and cringey to start with - but actually they are just as eager to 'go out' / be with other people as you are.

Reply 4

LancashireRep1

Official Rep

Original post

by Aleastraw20

How do I handle the homesickness at uni

Hi @Aleastraw20,

I completely understand your situation, believe me it gets easier as you continue university. Personally I felt extremely homesick, but the best thing I did was stick it out.

If possible, make plans to regularly visit home. This way you always know you are going back soon, rather than being unsure of your next visit home. I also recommend putting items in your accommodation that make you feel more at home, this could be sentimental décor, photos and more. I also highly suggest calling your family often, this way you don't feel like that line of communication is gone.

I also recommend really embracing this new path. Attend events, join societies, go out with flatmates and more. I found that when I had made friends and began socialising a lot more, my homesickness faded.

Many other people will be feeling exactly the same, so don't feel alone. 😊

I hope this helped, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (Business and Management)

Reply 5

hallamstudents

Official Rep

Original post

by Aleastraw20

How do I handle the homesickness at uni

Hi there,

It's normal to feel homesickness at uni but I understand that it can be hard. Something that I found helped me when I felt homesick was to always have a plan of when you will be going home. Even if it isn't for a couple of weeks, it might help you to know that you will be going at some point and have a plan of when you will be there so you can have something to look forward to.

It's also a good idea to keep yourself distracted and keep yourself busy. On days where you don't have uni, try and get out of the house- go to town, for a walk, join the gym or ask people if they want to do something fun with you as I have found that this really helps with homesickness. If you get out of the house every day and get some fresh air, you will feel so much better for doing this rather than just staying in all day.

Joining a society is also a good idea to help with homesickness as it will be a big distraction. Societies are great fun and a good chance for you to do something that you really enjoy doing. Your uni will have lots of societies so have a look what is on offer and sign up for anything that you think sounds interesting! There will be socials too which are really fun and you will meet lots of new people.

FaceTiming friends and family also helped me as it was nice to see a friendly face from home so I always found this quite helpful and its always nice to talk to people, especially if you are having a day where you feel a bit homesick, it can be nice to see a friendly face and a familiar voice.

I also found that making my room more homely and more like my room at home really helped too as it helped it to feel like my room. Photos of friends and family, fairy lights, pictures etc are all nice to have up in your room to make it feel more like your own.

I hope some of this helps,

Lucy-SHU student ambassador.

Reply 6

LilJones_fc

Original post

by UCLan Student

Hi @Aleastraw20,
I completely understand your situation, believe me it gets easier as you continue university. Personally I felt extremely homesick, but the best thing I did was stick it out.
If possible, make plans to regularly visit home. This way you always know you are going back soon, rather than being unsure of your next visit home. I also recommend putting items in your accommodation that make you feel more at home, this could be sentimental décor, photos and more. I also highly suggest calling your family often, this way you don't feel like that line of communication is gone.
I also recommend really embracing this new path. Attend events, join societies, go out with flatmates and more. I found that when I had made friends and began socialising a lot more, my homesickness faded.
Many other people will be feeling exactly the same, so don't feel alone. 😊
I hope this helped, please feel free to ask me any questions,
-Sophia (Business and Management)

I also feel the same and this is very helpful.