When You Feel Homesick, This Is What Happens To Your Body – Health Digest

Homesickness is a tricky beast. It’s not exactly a medical ailment, but it can certainly manifest in ways that translate into physical distress. If you find yourself upset, anxious, and distracted because you’re far away from your home, you may be homesick. While it’s abstract in the general sense, it can actually have a very significant effect on both your physical and mental health — and those symptoms can take their toll.

The pangs of longing can impact you so viscerally, in fact, that they may overwhelm your life. A 2018 study published in Emotion found that up to 70% of university students experience homesickness. It’s not just students who can feel the weight of this emotion, though. People who move to a new city or country for work, people who serve in the military, and even people who move across state lines — or even to a new town in the same state! — can become homesick.

These feelings are normal, and it’s important to give yourself grace as you adjust to the new circumstances and environment. At the same time, it’s crucial not to let the feelings fester and get the best of your ability to cope. It takes time to grow accustomed to a new place, but when that doesn’t happen — and when the symptoms continue — your body may present in different ways that may surprise you.

Being away from the creature comforts of a familiar environment can take its toll on mental health, leading to symptoms that mirror those of depression. No one is immune to that emotion, whether it’s a student leaving home for college, a professional headed to a new location for work, or a child going to camp. The sheer lack of familiarity with a place can take the person out of their comfort zone, leaving them feeling sad and withdrawn.

When those feelings persist, it can be overwhelming. The affected person might develop concentration issues, cry frequently, and have difficulty sleeping and performing tasks. Interestingly, the move does not have to be a world away to have this type of impact. “People can feel homesick by moving just a street away,” social psychologist Dr. Gary Wood tells the BBC. He adds that the lack of what he calls “anchor points” can be especially painful, as all of the familiarities of home are gone.

Another hallmark of depressive feelings linked to homesickness is a chronic fixation on the place left behind. The sense of security, protection, and safety associated with a home base is noticeably absent in a new environment. “You’re not literally just missing your house,” explains clinical psychologist Dr. Josh Klapow of the University of Alabama’s School of Public Health to CNN. “You’re missing what’s normal, what is routine, the larger sense of social space, because those are the things that help us survive.”

Just as grief can interfere with a person’s ability to function, so too can homesickness. Some people may experience intense homesickness that doesn’t go away. Psychologist Dr. Tony Munton explains to The Independent, “People can react to a move as if a close friend or relative had died, and given that moving involves a separation from familiar surroundings, it is perhaps not surprising that for some people the effects can be similar to bereavement or grieving. It can lead to quite serious emotional and physical disorders developing.”

At its core, leaving a familiar place is a lot like experiencing the loss of a loved one, particularly if it’s the home where one grew up or the workplace where someone was employed for a lengthy period. A 2015 study in Clinical Psychological Science dubbed homesickness a “mini-grief” and concluded, “[s]eparation is the essence of homesickness, just as the essence of grieving is the death of a loved person.”

The separation can lead to intense feelings of longing and an inability to adapt to the new location and lifestyle. An attachment to the past — and an inability to separate that past from the present situation — can be intrusive and make it difficult to come to accept the current reality. Finding some balance between the two worlds can be helpful. Staying in regular touch with loved ones but making an effort to get involved in the new community, for example, is one way to honor both worlds.

Eating can be surprisingly challenging when one is homesick. There may not be much desire to expend energy cooking, or to go grocery shopping, or even to seek out a good restaurant. Some foods can also serve as powerful reminders of the past, fueling feelings of homesickness and making it even harder to eat.

According to psychiatrist Dr. Zishan Khan of Mindpath Health, it’s not an unusual symptom. “For many, changes in appetite can be one of the earlier signs of being depressed or even a warning sign of an upcoming depressive episode,” he explains to Everyday Health. Unfortunately, left unchecked, problems could intensify when a person stops eating due to homesickness. “There is also always a concern that the appetite changes associated with prolonged depression can place a person at risk for various eating disorders, with the development of possible binging, purging, and restrictive eating behavior,” says Dr. Khan.

It’s extremely important to eat healthy when you’re dealing with depression, as your diet may otherwise lack the crucial nutrients that you need to thrive. It may be helpful to share meals with loved ones back home, too. Simply sharing a meal with a friend or family member over a video call can bring some solace and give you something comforting to add to your calendar. Try to stick with nutrient-dense foods, and avoid certain foods when dealing with depression (e.g., alcohol, processed foods, refined sugar).

Being away from a familiar environment can have a surprising impact on your sense of self, too. The connection is more intrinsic than it may seem at first. When one assimilates with their new environment, they’re more likely to become involved in some way. They might take part in activities, meet new people, and connect with their new community. Because they can lead to new relationships and opportunities, all of these new connections can have a profoundly positive impact on a person’s self-esteem.

Those factors are largely absent when a person is extremely homesick, though. Feeling disconnected from one’s surroundings — both people and places — can diminish important traits that are directly linked to self-esteem, like resilience and positivity. Lack of an immediate support system can also have an effect. When these concerns become a person’s reality, they can make it difficult for the person to handle the challenges that come with living in a new place.

Psychotherapists recommend prioritizing self-care to boost mental health. When you’re homesick, that’s not always easy. But tamping down homesickness can actually boost self-esteem at the same time. Making an effort to explore the new surroundings, for example, can be energizing and motivating. Decorating a space with small creature comforts of home, like photos and art, can serve as a positive reminder of the person’s unbreakable bond with the people they love. Using the past as fuel for the present can be helpful when a person feels low.

Homesickness could deplete energy so much that you end up drained. Clinical psychologist Dr. Michele Goldman tells Everyday Health, “It is not the same feeling you get when you’re sleepy and need to go to bed, but more so a physical sense of having no energy in your body.” Given that depression is a common medical reason why people feel so tired, it’s not a surprise that homesickness may have a similar effect.

You might be lethargic, or you may feel extremely weak or even have aches and pains. It can be a cruel cycle, because the exhaustion affects your ability to function properly. Even if you did want to step outside for a walk or explore your new town, you might be too tired to actually do so. Part of this is due to a chemical reaction, according to Dr. Goldman. She says that “[d]epression impacts the neurotransmitters associated with the reward system and the system that regulates alertness.”

At the same time, you may also have difficulty falling asleep when you’re homesick. You might worry about your ability to cope with your new circumstances, or you might simply miss home so much that you’re locked in a constant swirl of memories. Establishing a calming bedtime routine can help, as can exercising. Dr. Goldman explains that it “[i]ncreases sleep drive or desire to sleep, and naturally increases [feel-good] neurotransmitters in the brain including dopamine and serotonin, while also resulting in a natural energy boost.”

Even with a poor appetite, a person experiencing homesickness may develop gut issues. Being away from home is a disruptive experience, affecting normal routines and lifestyle choices. The chronic stress that homesickness causes could lead to symptoms of nervous stomach, such as indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and, in more serious cases, even ulcers. Even a reduced appetite could cause discomfort, especially if there’s no food to counter the gastric acid in the stomach.

There’s also a powerful link between the brain and the gut. The brain constantly sends signals to the gut and vice versa, affecting everything from hunger and sensitivities to metabolism and digestion. Stress releases excess cortisol in the body, which leads to widespread inflammation. That can lead to bacterial imbalance in the digestive tract and even impact intestinal muscular contractions. Both can lead to issues like cramping, diarrhea, and general stomach upset.

When homesickness doesn’t abate over time, your digestive symptoms could worsen. It’s important to see a medical professional if those issues don’t go away with time, or if they fail to respond to conventional over-the-counter treatments like antacids or conservative measures like peppermint tea. Chronic issues could be indicative of ulcers or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

A robust immune system supports you throughout your life, warding off all kinds of infections and sickness. While occasional stress won’t necessarily have a tremendous effect on your immunity, the type of persistent stress that accompanies ongoing homesickness could be more detrimental. “Eliminating or modifying different stress factors in your life is vital to protect and increase your immune response,” says clinical immunologist Dr. Leonard Calabrese of the Cleveland Clinic.

The irony is that the cortisol your body produces under duress can be helpful in small doses because it actually inhibits inflammation. However, when the mind and body are continuously stressed, the cortisol can cause chronic inflammation — and that can reduce immunity over time. Notably, excess inflammation can minimize lymphocytes. These white blood cells protect you from viruses, so lower levels could increase your chances of getting sick.

Dr. Richard Lang of the Cleveland Clinic explains, “It makes you more likely to catch colds or the flu, for example. It also may make autoimmune conditions such as lupus and inflammatory bowel disease worse.” The good news is that there are some easy steps you can take to boost your immunity, including eating well, exercising regularly, reducing alcohol intake, and sleeping better. Nurturing these areas of your life may also help you cope better with homesickness, which could have a significant long-term impact on your well-being.

Sometimes people feel homesick because they’re lonely. That loneliness can be exacerbated by the anxiety of being in a new environment, making it difficult to get out and make connections with others. People may avoid this for many reasons, from general upset about the situation to unfamiliarity with the local language if moving to a different country. It triggers a widespread lifestyle change, potentially causing homesickness to become even more complicated and difficult to resolve. “Because I feel lonely I like to sleep, stay home, and stream programs,” one woman told the BBC. “[I’m] not very active compared to how I would be at home.”

There are several ways to reverse an isolated lifestyle, but it takes effort. That’s the tricky part, because the depressive feelings linked with homesickness can reduce motivation and cause fatigue and loss of interest in everyday activities. However, even baby steps can make a difference. Going for a walk in town or on campus could expose you to new places and faces. Joining a club at work or at school could foster new connections. Researching local groups of interest, whether for sports, art, or another hobby, can link you to people of the same mindset.

Psychologist Dr. Perpetua Neo tells Stylist, “Build a new life. Establish new rituals. Experience what life has to offer you, because chances are, your hometown isn’t perfect. Know you’re not alone. Homesickness is more common than you think, and there’s no shame.”

While many symptoms of homesickness are emotional, it can also take its toll on your extremities. This is more directly linked to the anxiety that you may feel when you’re caught in the throes of your feelings. When you’re anxious, you’re more likely to breathe erratically and potentially hyperventilate. Explains neurologist Dr. Daniel Rifkin to the Huffington Post, “In this instance, your blood vessels and nerves are exposed to too little carbon dioxide, affecting the pH of your blood, and simply don’t function properly.”

When the blood vessels constrict, blood flow to the extremities slows. That can cause areas like your hands and feet to tingle or become numb. While it’s important to address the overarching reason for the anxiety, it can be helpful to practice careful breathing. According to Dr. Jack Feldman of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, “You have a stressful situation, just sit down and take a few deep breaths, five minutes, and people will discover it’s tolerable.”

Self-care practices like meditation and deep breathing can be especially helpful, as they recenter your focus and help you calm down — which can also have a positive effect on homesickness. Explore a few breathing exercises that help quell anxiety, many of which can help reduce anxiety and minimize the telltale tingling that sometimes comes along with it.