You have worked hard for it, looked forward to it for a long time and saved for it: your holiday. It’s wonderful to get away from your daily life and the people around you, but then you get that annoying feeling that you would rather not have when you’re on holiday: homesick. This is what you do about it.
What is homesickness and who suffers from it?
Homesickness is the lack of a home situation and is often linked to children. Stories of children who are picked up from a sleepover in the middle of the night because they are screaming at their parents or because they miss their bed at home. This is very annoying. Not only children suffer from it, adults also suffer from homesickness. About 93 percent of Dutch people to be precise, a huge number, right? So you are definitely not the only one if you suffer from it.
What do you notice?
Homesickness sometimes causes unpleasant symptoms. For some this is mental, such as feelings of sadness, loneliness, insecurity, lethargy and fear, and for others it is physical. They become nauseous, get headaches and stomachaches, sleep poorly and experience stress. It is an emotional response of your body to leaving your familiar environment. How much it bothers you depends on your personality. If you are not very social, less flexible or someone who likes to have everything under control and fixed routines, you are more likely to suffer from homesickness.
Eliminate or reduce
If you are lying on the beach with red eyes or falling asleep crying, there are several things that may help reduce it. These are the examples.
Do well
- Provide distraction: you usually suffer from homesickness in the quiet moments, which is logical because you are often alone and don’t have much else to do. Plan fun things that don’t remind you of home. Take a mountain hike or party until the early hours. It’s a shame to just lie on the beach, right?
- Talk about it and share it with others: there is no point in keeping the bad feeling bottled up. It makes you feel lonelier and only makes things worse. Tell others that you are dealing with this and see that they understand you. You are probably not the only one and you have the opportunity to exchange experiences. Nothing is better than not having to feel alone.
Do not
- Isolating yourself from your environment: just join in with the rest. This way you avoid being completely lonely in your hotel room or hostel. You don’t want that either, do you?
- Glorifying home: this only makes you sadder and increases the urge to go home.
Hopefully this helps you feel a little better. Stay positive, homesickness often goes away after a few days. Explore the area and do the things you like. You’re finally here, so have a great time. You’ll go home eventually.
