FEELING HOMESICK

Use this page to discover who to speak to when you are feeling homesick. This page also offers tips on how to cope with homesickness and look after yourself.

You definitely aren’t the only student feeling homesick, so please keep reading to see how we can help!

What is Homesickness?

Homesickness is the pain, anxiety, or distress of being away from home. This is often a common feeling for new students, especially those living away from home for the first time. If you don’t find a way to cope with your homesickness, it can start to significantly impact your day to day life including your studies and the ability to make new friends.

What can I do to stop feeling homesick?

Keep reading for tips and tricks to help with homesickness.

You can also keep scrolling for a list of support services to can talk to.

It is okay to feel homesick for a while!

• Feeling homesick is a normal feeling and lots of students will experience this. It is okay to allow yourself to miss home.
• Don’t ever feel guilty about missing home or see it as a weakness.
• Instead allow yourself to have a moment of feeling homesick and then find away to move past it.
• You could try meeting up with a friend for coffee or head to an event happening on campus.

Keep yourself busy and explore

It can be easy to stay in your room and isolate yourself from your new environment. It is important that you keep yourself busy and explore new things.

You can try:

• Heading to university events and meet new people
• Catch up with people from your classes or join a study group
• Check out what the campus has to offer, go for a walk and explore.
• Get a part-time job, Unitemps have a range of student jobs available.

Getting to know your surrounding can make your new environment feel familiar and over time make it feel like home.

Personalise your room with items from home

Bringing items from home is a good way to make your new environment feel like your own. We all have items that are important to us and feel like home. Bring them to university and personalise your room or flat.

Some items you could bring are:

• Photos of family or friends
• Your favourite blanket
• Teddy bear (you’d be surprised about many people hide away stuffed toys in their rooms!)

If you have forgotten to bring some items with you, that’s okay! Collect them next time you are home or see if someone can post them to you.

Keep in contact with home but not all the time!

• It is important to speak to family and friends from home. This gives you the chance to share everything new that’s been happening at university.
• However, it is important to limit the amount of times you are calling home. Constantly calling people from home can make you feel like you are missing out on things back home.
• The more you speak to people from home, the less time you are spending making new friends and having new experiences.
• Also consider when you head back home to visit. If you visit too soon into the academic year, it might end up making you feel more homesick once you return to university. Consider going home in vacation times instead.

Avoid using social media all the time

• We know how much students love posting on social media and seeing what their friends are up to. However, this can sometimes be more detrimental if you are feeling homesick.
• Constantly seeing your friends from home at parties, birthday events etc. can make you miss home even more.
• Try making your own memories here at university and share them with your family instead.

Everyone's experience is different

• Often students come to campus expecting to make friends right away, do well with their studies, and never miss home. This is not always the case and everyone’s experience at university tends to be different.
• You might see other people at university out all the time with new friends, or seeming un-phased about being away from home. Don’t compare yourself to these students.
• Not everyone’s university experience needs to be one wild party. You also don’t know that those students aren’t feeling homesick inside and just not expressing it.
• It is important that you find your own ways to build a home here at university rather than following in the footsteps of others.
• Consider speaking with someone who can offer some guidance on moving past homesickness. Keep reading before for more information.

Talk to Someone

It is always good to talk to someone about how you are feeling.

Check out some of the services available on campus who are free for a chat.

Residential Community Team

The Residential Community Team are a peer-led service that offer pastoral support to residential students. They are always free for a chat and can help you to speak with other services at the university.

Residence Hubs:

Our staff are available in your Residence Hub every evening between

7pm-9pm

RCT Hub (Red Square):

Our staff are available in the RCT hub from 9am-11pm Monday to Friday

and 12pm-11pm Saturday and Sunday.

If you would prefer to organise a time to speak with someone or communicate via email complete our Triage Form:

Online Triage Form (office.com)

Non Emergency Out of Hours Number:

Have a chat with someone from our team, please keep in mind our staff aren’t to be utilised as an emergency or counselling service

If you live in Arthur Vick, Benefactors, Bluebell, Claycroft, Jack Martin, Rootes, Tocil or Westwood call:
07884 733 042

If you live in Cryfield, Sherbourne, Heronbank or Lakeside call: 07881 267 519

Only accessible between 11pm-7am

DID YOU KNOW?

Our Residential Community Assistants (RCAs) are students themselves!

So they know first hand what it is like moving away from home!

Wellbeing and Student Support

Wellbeing and Student Support offer a regular drop-in service available for all students. If deemed appropriate, they can also organise counselling services through their CAPS Team.

Drop-In Services

10am-3pm Monday to Friday

(Drop-in services are accessible in person and online)

For further information and to join the drop-in queue click here

The Chaplaincy

The Chaplaincy is available as a space to relax, study, reflect, pray, meditate, or find support. The Chaplains are available to support anyone at the University: people of all faiths and none.

Opening Times

Monday to Saturday

8:00am to 10:00pm with your University card.

On Sundays the Chaplaincy is open for Catholic Mass and Church on Campus (Anglican/Free Church).

Want to speak with a Chaplain?

You can contact any Chaplain individually or fill out the contact form and a member of the team will get back to you. Click here for further information.

External Support Available

Use this link to discover external support services available for students. Some services are available 24/7 so please check them out!

Click here for further information.

Check this out!

Check out our page Making Friends.

This page has a range of information about services on campus that offer support and run regular events for students!