Homesickness:
Most people will have felt homesick at some time in their lives, perhaps when they were younger, and it is easy to forget just how overwhelming it can be.
Beginning life at college naturally generates both excitement and anxiety for many reasons including the move, academic responsibilities, and meeting new people. For some, this apprehension is quickly overcome as they adapt to a new environment; for others the transition takes longer and sometimes emerges as homesickness where there is a preoccupation with home-focused thoughts. There is a yearning for and grieving over the loss of what is familiar and secure: most often it is about the loss of people - family and friends - but it is also about the loss of places, pets, and old routines.
Those who experience homesickness might notice an increase in depressed feelings, anxiety, obsessive thoughts and minor physical ailments. Homesickness can often be distinguished from depression in this way - in depression sufferers find both college and home awful, whereas in homesickness university life can feel awful while home may be seen through rose-tinted hues. Some students will start by being mildly depressed and anxious several weeks before leaving home, in anticipation of the impending change. Others will be fine initially, and then to their surprise find themselves feeling homesick later in the academic year, perhaps after the Thanksgiving or semester break, or even at the start of their second academic year. But commonly it is the first few days or weeks after arriving at the university that tend to be the most difficult.
If you are homesick, you aren’t the only one on campus feeling that way. Talking with someone about how you are feeling often helps, whether that is with a gryphon, a friend, other members of a therapy group, or with a counselor. Hopefully you will feel free to call the Lehigh University Counseling Center at 83880 to explore your options there.
