Tuesday 09-12-2025 - 13:40

The Facts About Homesickness

Homesickness is extremely common during university; according to the NSU (National Students’ Union) up to 70% of students across the UK will experience it at some point during their studies.

Although many people associate homesickness with welcome week, there’s no “normal” time to feel homesick.

Students often don’t experience homesickness until the initial excitement of arriving at university has worn off. Some people may continue to feel homesick when returning after Christmas and Easter breaks, even into second, third and fourth year.

For the majority of students, homesickness is an uncomfortable, but very normal, university experience.

Common Signs of Homesickness

Often, people assume homesickness is simply the feeling of missing home, but it can often cause other symptoms, such as:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Social isolation, or lack of motivation of socialise
• Lack of motivation and engagement with academics 
• Loss of appetite, or overeating
• Physical symptoms, like headaches and stomach pain
• Struggling to deal with stress and worry, even if it seems unrelated to being away from home

 

Keep in Touch with Friends and Family

A simple phone call or FaceTime can remind you that your friends and family are still an irreplaceable part of your life, even if you’re living away from them.

Homesickness can sometimes make you feel afraid of drifting apart from loved ones, or worrying about when you’ll next see them again. The best way to combat this is to make definitive plans to visit, or to have them come and visit you.

Having a set date to look forward to and knowing that you’ll see them again soon can be reassuring, especially during your first term, while you’re still getting used to living away from home.

Don’t Become too Fixated on Home

Even though staying in touch with loved ones is important, spending lots of time away from Durham can sometimes make your homesickness worse in the long term.

Even though going home every other weekend might make you feel better in the short term, it’ll stop you from getting used to your new environment. Disengaging with student life can make you feel even more isolated, and prevent you from getting the most out of your time at Durham.

Social media can also become a fixation for many students suffering with homesickness. It’s tempting to follow what your old friends are up to at their universities, but this can quickly become harmful if you let yourself become too worried about missing out, or excessively compare your experiences.

Often, it’s best to turn off the phone and try to focus on making your own memories in your new university.

Settle into a Routine

Staying busy is one of the best ways to manage homesickness, but this can quickly become overwhelming if you don’t establish a routine. Using a physical or digital planner can help to build these habits, and stop you from feeling lost or aimless.

Don’t be tempted to skip lectures, especially early in the year, and try to use them to provide structure to your day. 

Additionally, setting specific times aside each day to study will benefit your academics as well as your wellbeing. Moving to your college library or the Bill Bryson to do this can get you out of your room, and you can even plan to do this with friends if you want to incorporate more social time.

Trying to sleep, eat and exercise at consistent times can massively improve your mental health, and give a sense of stability. Although university life comes with lots of commitments, sleep should always be a priority. You should try to avoid disrupting your sleep patterns too much, though with Durham’s seventeen college bars and iconic clubs always within walking distance, we know this is easier said than done!

Forge new connections

Putting yourself out there, even if it seems intimidating, is one of the best ways to overcome homesickness.

Durham provides plenty of opportunities for socialising. If you want to get to know people living nearby during first year, your college JCR will regularly run events throughout the year, as well as freshers’ events during induction week.

Societies are also a great way to meet like-minded people. University is a great time to try new things; you don’t have to be sporty to join sports societies, particularly college sports, which are very beginner-friendly.

If you’re an international student, you might benefit from joining the International Students’ Association, or a cultural society relevant to your background, since adjusting to a new culture can be an extra challenge when dealing with homesickness.

If the society you’d be interested in joining doesn’t exist, you can always start one! There’s no one way to engage with Durham’s social scene; if you don’t find yourself meeting people you connect with in one place, there’s always somewhere else to look.

Sometimes, forming real connections can take time and persistence. You won’t be as close with someone you met a week ago compared with someone you’ve known since secondary school, but the best thing you can do is give people a chance. You never know where or when you might meet your closest friends.

Know When to Seek Support

If your homesickness is causing you significant emotional distress, which is affecting your social or academic life, even after the first few weeks, or causing thoughts of self-harm, you should seek support from the university.

The university and its colleges have extensive wellbeing resources to support students struggling with their mental health, which can be found on Sharepoint.

If you need immediate support, you can call or message:

• Durham Nightline for a volunteerrun confidential listening service, which can be accessed from 21:00-07:00, Friday to Tuesday during termtime. They can be contacted for minor or major support.
• Shout for 24/7 overthe-phone or instant messaging support.
• The Samaritans provide a 24/7 overthe-phone confidential listening service for people in crisis.

Overview

Although occasional feelings of homesickness are an unpleasant fact of life for the majority of students, you never need to feel powerless or alone when dealing with them.

Hopefully, these tips have left you more confident in your ability to manage and overcome your homesickness. Just remember that if you’re ever feeling overwhelmed, there are resources in place to support you. Nobody has to go through it alone.