What to Do If You Are Homesick During the Holidays
Most people spend their holidays with family , friends, and loved ones. If you’re away from family, friends, or loved ones this time of year, it’s hard not to be homesick. Here are some ways to deal with it.
Start a new tradition like volunteering
Holidays make us think about the ideal life, which is difficult when most of our life seems far from ideal. Staying away from people who make you think everything is okay only makes the situation worse.
Creating new holiday traditions can help you change that mindset. You don’t want to forget about your past traditions, you just want to create new ones that need to be celebrated too. Your tradition could be Friends Day or the annual party with ugly Christmas sweaters, or just indulge in a gourmet dinner, or go on a solo trip. The new tradition not only distracts you from over-thinking about the past, but it is also an inspiring way to travel into the future .
Volunteering is a great holiday tradition. When you are unsure of what else to do , sometimes the best thing to do is to help others. You can search VolunteerMatch.org to find out what specific activities are needed in your area at this time of year. In fact, some organizations, such as Great Life Mentoring in Washington DC , need volunteers to help other people get through their own holiday loneliness. Alternatively, you could deliver food , help the homeless, or visit a nursing home . You spend time with other people, feel a sense of purpose, and are distracted from nostalgia. And volunteering really makes you happy .
Say yes to holiday invitations
You may also find something new to feel nostalgic for. Saying yes to events outside of your comfort zone can help you shed the funk of homesickness and do something adventurous.
If new friends invite you to spend time with their family, your knee jerk reaction may be to say no because you feel the invitation is pathetic or just worried that it will be uncomfortable. Say yes instead. Say yes to holiday parties, friends’ company parties, or invite your friend’s family to hang out, even if you’re just coming in for a couple of hours. No invitations? Log out of your community and head to the holiday markets or local New Years. You can have a great time – or at least better than sitting at home alone.
On the other hand, these activities can make you feel homesick even more. You may feel lonely when you do this, reminding you that you are not with your family or those you love. It’s all about how you approach it. If you think of it not as a way to replace your traditions, but as a way to simply meet new people, the pressure will be much less . You can also meet people on the Internet who can deal with their own homesickness. For example, you can browse Meetup.com for parties and holiday events.
Pamper yourself
I missed home so much when I traveled abroad alone in my 20s. It was Thanksgiving, I was in Greece, and there was almost no one around. I was incredibly lucky to travel, but I missed my family.
To cope, I decided to pamper myself. I went to a nice restaurant, ordered a bunch of delicious food, and sat there alone. I still felt nostalgic, but taking care of myself meant I was in a better state of mind, so I could focus on how positive it was then, rather than how negative I felt now. It is difficult to feel sad when you are eating delicious food in a beautiful place. Your pleasure can be a picnic, a hike or just a bubble bath. The idea is to do something that you wouldn’t normally do to remind yourself that life has its advantages.
Connect with your family remotely
The holidays are finally here, so if you can reach out to your family, do it! Set the time for a video call via Skype or Google Hangouts. Reach out to them on Facebook Live or Instagram Live while you’re on the beach or out with friends. Technology makes it easy to stay connected, and while you won’t be face-to-face together, it’s the best way to bond with your family when you can’t be together in person.
And the good news is, the best way to cure homesickness in the bud is to just experience it. Researcher Chris Thurber told CNN :
“It turns out homesickness is exactly what vaccinates against future homesickness. Through difficult separation, your mind forces itself to cope. “
Again, this goes back to experience. The more you feel away from home, the better you will handle it year after year. In the meantime, the best thing you can do is communicate with your loved ones as much as possible, and then create your own traditions that they will enjoy and look forward to in the future.