Homesick whilst Backpacking

[McarP]

Hi all! I'm 19 and have been backpacking Asia for just over 2 months. I've always had a good home life and I love my family and where I live, so I was prepared to feel a little bit homesick during my travels. What I wasn't prepared for was feeling homesick for 2 months straight. Other travellers I've met told me that it would pass, but it hasn't and I think now I've resigned to the fact that it will probably stick with me throughout the rest of my travels (I have two months left). Usually I feel less homesick when I keep busy, and it helps not to have contact with home (but I can only keep this up for a few days, I love talking to my family and keeping them updated!). It's very frustrating - I'm enjoying myself but always sad at the same time, constantly feel on the verge of tears and it's not only affecting my happiness but that of my travel buddy as well, who doesn't feel homesick at all. The annoying thing is I don't WANT to be at home, I like travelling and it's not that long till I'll be home anyway. It's just a frustrating feeling that won't go away. I'm interested to know of other people's experiences with homesickness and any coping methods you may have. Thanks! 🙂

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi McarP,

Thanks for posting! Backpacking around Asia sounds pretty amazing! Hope you're having a good time.

Whilst I haven't been travelling overseas (sigh) I definately do understand the feeling of homesickness having been away from my parents for months at a time. It's a bittersweet time - good because you enjoy the feeling of being away, but bitter because we miss them like crazy.

A couple of things that I've found helpful to me has been -

- keeping a little momento of them like a photo or jewellery. This helps me to remember that they are never too far away - or in your case only a phone call away.

- try to think about all the great stories you'll be able to tell your friends and family when you get back. How cool is Asia? What is happening there that is definately not happening back in Australia?

- practice mindfulness. There are a few apps to help with this, but basically it's about totally grounding yourself and focusing on what you hear, see, touch, smell and taste. One exercise that's pretty common is what are 5 things you can see, 4 things you can feel, 3 things you can hear, 2 things you can smell and 1 thing you can taste? Sometimes this can be super subtle like just feeling your feet on the ground or birds in the sky. The key part is that you're really focusing on it.

- make time to feel homesick. Maybe you could make some time at night just to ring your family or think of them or miss them. Often thinking that you have to "forget about it" makes it worse.

- make a list for all the stuff you'll do when you get back. Often being away from home can make coming home all the more exciting. I was away from my friend for a year and it was so hard so when I got back we made a list and did all these things. It was so much more fun.

Hope this helps a little! Feel free to post back if you like. I also found this link which might be more helpful as it's for people that are abroad - https://www.gooverseas.com/blog/ways-reduce-homesickness-abroad