Overcoming Homesickness: Finding Comfort While Living Abroad
Moving to a new country is exciting and filled with possibilities, it will also be filled with challenges, one of the most common ones being - Homesickness, it’s an experience that is universal to every migrant and although it’s most likely to occur in the early days of establishing life in Australia it can happen at anytime, some people are surprised when feelings of homesickness arise even after being in their new chosen country for a decade or more but it’s completely normal especially around special times like significant birthdays, weddings or the birth of your own children.
Understanding Homesickness – What it is and why it happens.
Homesickness can manifest in many ways. It can be emotional, you may feel sadness, anxiety, and finding yourself wanting to withdraw from social situations. It can also be very physical, you may be having difficulty sleeping, experience stomach cramps or a loss of appetite. You are most likely to experience a combination of these and other symptoms.
Recognising the Signs – Emotional and physical symptoms.
These symptoms appear when you are longing for familiar places, family and friends. The things that you might not have realised bring you comfort and a sense of belonging. Homesickness can be triggered by a range of things including smell, sights and sounds that remind you of something you are no longer regularly connected to.
Why Homesickness Happens – Triggers and unexpected waves of nostalgia.
For some people the feeling of homesickness is so overwhelming it has them considering packing all their things and moving back home, others experience homesickness in a more subtle way and often don’t link feelings of sadness to missing home because sometimes it’s only elements of home that you miss, like a daily interaction with someone or dish from a favourite restaurant.
By incorporating some of the following things into your everyday life it can help reduce the intense feelings that can arise with homesickness, If you’re not sure if you are feeling homesick but are experiencing some of the symptoms previously mentioned, you will likely benefit from incorporating the suggestions below as well.
Please be mindful that the aim isn’t to rid yourself of the feelings that have arisen for you, it’s better to embrace them and honour all that you miss.
Tips For Finding Comfort While Living Abroad – Practical Ways to Cope
-Connect to your culture through food, this is one of the quickest ways to feel as if you are being hugged by those you miss. It can be a special dish that only your Mum makes or a special snack that reminds you of growing up sometimes just the smell of ingredients can be all that you need to soothe your soul
-Surround yourself with items that remind you of home, this can be photos or trinkets placed around the house or a special album on your phone filled with photos of the people and places who are no longer close by. It could be a handmade blanket to wrap yourself up in every night.
-Phone home regularly, don’t make this a thing you only do when you are at a breaking point. Keeping regular contact makes it easier to reach out when you are feeling down and can be done in many ways, phone and video calls, voice messages, txts and memes.
-Create new traditions, life in a new country means a lot of things change. It’s a great opportunity to establish new ways of doing things that are important to you. Creating your own traditions will help anchor you to your new world, helping you establish strong roots in Australia while incorporating the traditions you already cherish
-Join an association, group or club that you identify with, a challenge shared is a challenge halved. It can be really helpful to be around people who are going through a similar experience to you. Here’s a few I suggest
Professional Migrant Women Community
Asian Australian Professionals Collective
The Women of Colour Founders Network
-Mediate, meditation is so powerful it helps you connect into the feelings that can transform you to another time and place, creating a regular meditation practice can be one of the best ways to help relieve feelings of homesickness. My favourite App for Meditations is Insight Timer.
Embracing Homesickness, Not Fighting It – It’s okay to feel this way.
Homesickness isn’t a sign that you don’t belong in Australia and you need to leave, the feelings you experience are reminding you of the strong connections you have and the need to nourish them in a different way now that you have established life in another country.
Remember that it’s a matter of when not if you will experience homesickness but when and the best way to move through when it does arrive is to embrace it like a dear old friend would after not seeing you in years, homesickness is a signal from your body that you need to care and nourish yourself with the familiar things that make you feel at home wherever you may be.
