How to overcome HOMESICKNESS?

It is always a dream of everybody to have a better life. This is the reason why people are attracted to work abroad especially when they have less or no opportunity in their own. In Philippines for instance, wherein the opportunity for new graduates is getting less, the percentage of Filipinos working abroad is getting higher every year.

After getting the job, the problem starts. Usually if the person is having strong bond with his or her family will take minimum of 3 months to a maximum of 6 months to adapt with the new empty environment. Empty in the since that you experience being far from your family for the first time and mostly you don’t know anyone. I remember my first job overseas (in Saudi Arabia), it took me a year to adjust because their culture is totally different from ours. I am a flexible person but I felt the disparity that time. Homesickness is not just a simple problem that after it is gone, it won’t hunt you anymore. As long as you love your family, that feeling will be there from time to time. There is no medicine for that feeling but there are many ways to overcome it.

Before that, let us see the definition of homesickness for us to make a better understanding of this feeling.

Homesickness is the distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated separation from the specific home environment or attachment objects. The term is in origin a loan translation of nostalgia, a learned term coined in Baroque period medicine. The Oxford English Dictionary describes homesickness as a feeling one has when missing home. Feelings of longing are often accompanied by anxiety and depression. These symptoms may range from mild to severe. Homesickness frequently occurs when one travels and may be exacerbated by unfamiliar environments or foreign cultural contexts.

Definition source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homesickness

Yes, we acknowledged that it is a natural and common response for anybody who leaves home. We are sharing the same feeling even though some of us may not admit it. Here are few tips that are based on my personal experience are effective in dealing with homesickness while working abroad.

1.    Find friends

The first thing to do is to find buddies, who you can talk to whenever you are feeling sad. Expressing your feelings to somebody gives you relief and comfort. The only thing is you should be smart of choosing one. I mean you might be befriended with somebody because he or she is using you. Extra care is necessary.

2.    Avoid bad habits and be recreative

Drinking is the worst thing to avoid especially when you are in Middle East. Many people are using homesickness as scapegoat for them to drink until their face becomes numb and their mind becomes loopy. Then after that, they will say, “at least I don’t feel homesick for a while”. What a shame.

These things can be avoided if you will be recreative. Fishing is one of the best if you are near in the sea. For sure, you’ll enjoy it. Running among other sports could also be fun. Here in our company most of us are running everyday just for fun and staying healthy. Internet gaming also is very relaxing like what we are doing (now we are one of those having facebook over dosage). Funny though, it is very entertaining.

3.    Talk to your family more often

Before it was costly to talk to your family, but now because of internet technology it is almost free. In this way, you will feel that they are near with you. I have co-workers that even after chatting they are not closing the webcams so that they could see each other going to bed and sleeping as if they are together.

4.    Be spiritually active

This is the last and the most important in my list. I have known many people who are not going to church in their country but when they worked abroad, they felt and discovered the importance of God in their life. It is also best to organize a Bible study group. This will help you avoid doing something awful that will destroy your reputation or worst your family (you know what I mean).

These are just few things you can do to overcome nostalgia or homesickness, don’t just select one but try to do it all.

P. S. Homesickness is also felt by students that are leaving home to study in different place and same tips are applicable.

published 7 months ago

RekatksiR

389 points