Moving away from your home, usually leaving your parents and friends behind is not an easy thing to do. There are various reasons why people move, and the most common ones are definitely going away for college, better job opportunities or moving in with your significant other. Whatever the reason may be, you are perfectly allowed to feel homesickness and eventually overcome it. The older people get the more they think that they should not even feel homesick, but it is very important to deal with it.
Recognize homesickness
Homesickness usually does not hit you on the very first day or weeks after the move. On the contrary, months can go by in your new surrounding without you feeling down and missing your old home. There is a good explanation for this, and it is that everything is so new to you and you simply do not have time to relax and monitor your emotions up close. You focus on the events of tomorrow. However, when you start feeling anxious almost all the time, or sad without any specific reason and have a feeling that you are missing something, you are feeling homesick.
Homesickness can come in different forms as we have seen, and it is important to recognize it and deal with it in peaceful surroundings.
Do not try to ignore it
The more we resist a feeling that we have, the more it comes back to haunt us. Or at least it seems that way. If you are feeling down, one way of dealing with it is to let yourself feel down for a moment. Accept that you are feeling homesick and just take it all in. After we accept something, it always gets better because it was not that bad in the first place. Our minds can make us believe that the situation is much worse than it actually is.
Remind yourself of why you are here in the first place
When we start thinking about our old home, our friends, and family, there is a good chance that people regret making the move at all. But, do not worry, this is absolutely normal. If you start doubting yourself and your decisions, just remind yourself why you came here. Before the move, you made so many plans for your new life and you wanted it more than anything. So, take a deep breath and start remembering all the things that you wanted to do when you move. You will soon feel much better and calmer.
Do not idealize your old life
When you start idealizing your old life, tell yourself to stop. There is no ideal life in all of its forms. What now seems like a perfect life was a life where you also felt anxious sometimes, or down. People may seem friendlier to you at your old place, and the things were a lot easier, but the truth is, it all depends on your point of view. In time, you will feel secure and positive about your new life, and you can achieve this by not idealizing your old life and focusing on the present and future ahead of you.
Go out
We cannot stress this enough. One of the best ways to deal with nostalgia is to go out and make new memories. You are a tourist in your new place, which means that you have countless places to visit. Museums, coffee shops, art galleries, parks, cinemas, restaurants, and countless events are waiting for you. Do not stay inside your house any longer than you need to sleep and eat. Immerse yourself into your new environment, and soon it will become familiar to you just like at your old home.
Make new friends
This is easier said than done, of course. People may feel shy, or simply not in the mood for making new friends. However, if you are up to, making new friends will help you deal with homesickness and nostalgia and overcome it faster. Call the people that you know and ask them for a cup of coffee. They can introduce you to some of their friends, and once this begins it never stops. You will meet new people, go to different places and create new memories that you will cherish. Also, use the meeting apps to meet people with the same preferences as you.
Stay connected to your old life
One of the reasons why people feel homesickness is because they think that their old way of living is over. While in a way that is true, remember that you can always go and visit your friends and family. The world has become so much smaller with countless discounts, cheap flight tickets, buses, trains and there is no reason why you should not come and visit. Also, video calls and texting have become an integral part of our life and they are perfect for dealing with homesickness. After all, your dearests are healthy and happy and able to Skype.
Create new routines to overcome homesickness
When you start looking forward to the next day in your new place without looking back to your old life with sadness, it is over. And the best way to achieve this is to make new small routines that will make you feel like you are at home. It does not have to be anything big; the simplest things are always the most effective. Pick out a day for buying groceries; find your new favorite coffee place where you will drink coffee in the morning. Try to enjoy as much as you can in the little things that every new day has to offer.
There is absolutely no reason why you should deny, avoid or ignore feeling homesickness. It is only after you recognized it and pushed through it that it will diminish and eventually go away. Take each day as it comes, and make new memories as often as possible. Dorothy and Martha movers wish you good luck!
