Have you ever felt sad because you remember that you can no longer hear the sound of your mother cooking, or perhaps the sound of the news channel on television that your father is watching? Have you ever suddenly missed the taste of home-cooked meals, or the atmosphere of your bedroom? If you have, you experienced something called ‘homesickness’, or the feeling of sadness or distress caused by separation from the place and the memories within (Oxford, n.d.; WebMD, n.d.). 

While more than 50% people have experienced this at least once in their life, homesickness mostly affects people who moved both temporarily and permanently, such as students, migrants, refugees and people in the military. Particularly for students who just entered university life, the transition from living at home with family into living far away from home is significant. However, this transition can trigger different experiences; either they consider it as an excited adventure, or feeling distress and overwhelmed to independently manage their lives (Thurber & Walton, 2012). Furthermore, international students may be greatly affected because of the cultural differences and language barriers. 

Speaking of cultural differences, it is one of the main things that causes homesickness as it emerge feelings of not belonging. Hence, someone may still feel like an outsider even though they are already familiar with their surroundings (WebMD, n.d.). This is a concerning condition especially if there is a huge difference between cultures which will make it even more difficult to adjust.

 Besides the feeling of not belonged, homesickness are more dangerous than how it sounds. A journal from American College Health (2012) reported that 7% of people who lived away from home experienced similar symptoms with anxiety and depression. If not treated further, it can negatively impact different areas of psychological functioning that lead to lack of memory, reduce concentration and social isolation–or even worse, it is reported that students who experienced homesickness are three times more likely to withdraw from school.