Homesickness While Working Oversea Amy Smith, October 13, 2022December 12, 2023 8 Best Ways To Prevent Homesickness While Working Oversea Image Source: Freepik Working abroad can be a life-changing venture, and it can also pose some challenges at the same time. One of those challenges is homesickness – a condition whereby you started feeling like returning to your home country just to be with your loved ones. There are ways to prevent homesickness. If you are an expat and feel homesick, you are not alone. A study reveals that homesickness is a prevalent challenge for many expats. Leaving this condition uncurbed can lead to a lack of productivity and possibly, health decline. We wouldn’t want this for you. That’s why we’ve curated the 8 best ways to prevent homesickness while working oversea for you. 1. Make New Friends As Early As You Can An effective way of keeping the feeling of loneliness and longing for home at bay is making new friends. Having people around you can keep your mind engaged, leaving less time for unprofitable wandering thoughts. You can ask some colleagues over for dinner, hang out with fellow immigrants and share your experiences. Being alone for long periods can trigger a feeling of loneliness and make you homesick. 2. Keep Your Objectives Before You You’ve probably traveled abroad to work to become the difference maker in your family. There’ll be expectations from your loved ones on your stay abroad. Spending time brooding about home could steer you off your objectives. Instead, harness those memories as a motivation to stay focused till you achieve your goal of working abroad. Moreover, if you’re abroad with a temporary work visa, you know you’ll be seeing your family soon. Your family would be proud to know thoughts about them were an inspiration and not a distraction. 3. Establish Healthy Old Habits One of the reasons you can feel homesick is not being able to continue activities you were accustomed to. You do not have to lose yourself because you are no longer in your homeland. If you can, start your routine activities and keep to them. For example, if you are used to frequenting a gym, why not pick up from where you stopped? Although the places and people involved in your routine will change, you’ll feel at home in your new location soon. 4. Explore The Country Sometimes, taking time to explore a new region can make you less anxious about your homeland. There are so many places to see and cultures to learn about. If you’re the type that loves to discover new sites, you can make a bucket list of places you wish to visit and meals to taste. Who knows, you may find a pub with your local food and recipes you want to learn, and many more. You can also attend social and sporting events around you to have fun. You would be surprised how time flies and how much of your worries you’ve left behind. 5. Plan Well Before Going Abroad Many people begin to feel homesick when they meet conditions they never envisaged when they arrived abroad. They begin to wish they were at home at that moment. Well, that’s a typical human behavioral reaction whenever we feel threatened. To avoid this occurrence, ask relevant questions about your proposed destination. Make arrangements for your accommodation and other things that can make you settle down quickly. You can speak to a London immigration lawyer if you are immigrating to the UK. Doing so means you will face little or no difficulties upon arriving abroad. 6. Keep in Touch With Family and Friends You don’t need to stop contacting your loved ones to prevent homesickness. Instead, schedule communication with them. But, avoid excessive communication as this could be unhealthy for breaking your home obsession. Meanwhile, checking on them puts your mind at ease that everyone is okay. Thanks to social media and internet services, you can always talk and see your loved ones as often as you wish. Whether through an instant messaging app, audio buzz, or a video call, your family is only a dial away. 7. Plan a Trip When You Can There’ll be holidays so you should plan how to spend them with your loved ones. If you’re financially buoyant, you can fly over and check on your family or invite them to visit you. An alternative is to request an appropriate visa that allows you to do so. 8. Share How You Feel With Others The good thing is homesickness is not a mental illness, so you do not need medical treatment. However, talking about it with others can be therapeutic and help you get over the feeling in time. By doing so, you may also be helping others in your shoes. You’ll get lots of people willing to help you loosen up and feel much better than dealing with it alone. Final Thoughts Homesickness is absolutely normal for expats, but how well you deal with it matters the most. Even after complying with all of these tips, there’ll still be times when thoughts about home would cross your mind. Let the memories flow, but refuse to linger in them. Smile broadly and remind yourself that although there is no place like home, working abroad is equally a worthy adventure. Share on FacebookTweetFollow usSave Articles Health Life Travel abroadcommunicationfamilyfriendshomesickinternetMemoriesnew placesocial mediatravelwork