24 Feb How To Cope With Homesickness While Interning Abroad
Living in a new country without the presence of friends or family can be quite a daunting experience! You might find yourself longing for home, missing your loved ones, and wondering if you made the right decision to move abroad. But don’t worry! There are certainly ways of dealing with homesickness while interning abroad.
If you find yourself struggling with homesickness, try the following tips to help you feel better.
Don’t be ashamed of your feelings
It’s completely understandable for you to miss home right now. Everyone misses their loved ones from time to time, after all! So don’t be embarrassed or ashamed of feeling homesick – simply recognize that it’s normal and try to cope with it.
As per studies, nearly 74% of students experience homesickness while interning abroad. While it’s good to know that you are not alone in this, it’s even better to find out that about 99% of students say that their temporary stay abroad was a positive experience.
Keep in touch with your loved ones
If you’re struggling, this is probably the easiest thing to do that will help you feel better. Call them or send them a text to let them know how you’re doing, and keep up regular communication! Tell your parents about any exciting experiences you might be having so they can live vicariously through you for a bit. This will definitely help them feel less far away! Keep an old-school paper diary or journal so you can write your thoughts and feelings down as well if that’s something you enjoy doing.
Find an activity to occupy yourself with
Homesickness is usually more of an emotion than it is a physical feeling. It’s the longing for home that tends to worsen homesickness more than anything else, so distracting yourself with activities will help you put your mind elsewhere. Go out and explore your new city or country, join a sports club or engage in a new hobby. Keep busy by exploring or seeing as much as possible while you’re here!
Don’t compare your experience abroad negatively against your life back home
You might feel homesick because things are completely different here than at home, which can lead to feelings of inadequacy or inferiority. Try not to compare your old life against your new one too much – that will get you nowhere fast! Instead, embrace the differences between the two places and try to enjoy it.
Try not to isolate yourself
It’s easy for homesickness to cause us to withdraw from others in an effort to cope with our emotions alone. But being open to talking about our feelings will certainly help alleviate at least some of the fear that we’ll never feel “at home” again while living here. Allow yourself a little time each day where you can talk openly and honestly with people about how you’re feeling without fear of judgment.
Find a support system to talk with about your feelings
Friends aren’t the only people who could be helpful for this – find what works for you, whether it’s family or professionals! They’ll be able to provide constructive feedback, support and advice so try to utilize those resources as best as you possibly can. Just as friends can help us feel less lonely by being distracted from loneliness, so too does speaking with loved ones about our feelings help alleviate sickness significantly.
Remind yourself that homesickness is temporary
Homesickness might be the worst while you’re experiencing it, but that doesn’t mean it will last forever! It’s also one of the most common feelings when people move to new places, so there are plenty of other international students who know exactly how you feel right now. Keep in mind that even if emotions don’t seem under control right now, they can very well take care of themselves after some time passes.
Homesickness is pretty common when people move to different countries, but it doesn’t mean you should fear it! Since there are plenty of ways to cope with the homesickness, try using these tips to get back into feeling like yourself again.
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