Beating Homesickness during training

As it’s Blue monday we wanted to share some tips for homesickness which can be very common amongst both UK based students and those from Overseas who have travelled for training.  It is common during the darker winter months to find day to day more tricky when colds are rife, and we aren’t getting the vitamin D we need from the sunshine.  However, no need to despair as there are lots of things we can do to maintain a health and positive sense of wellbeing at this time and plenty f0r our students to look forward to  in in the term ahead at Rambert School.

So for anyone feeling the effects of being away from home especially after all that time spent with friends and family at Christmas there are a few things you can try.

1 Bring a little bit of your home to your new place.  Embrace what you miss of home whether that’s a family recipe you can learn how to cook, stick up old pictures, make your house more homely and explore your new town with new friends to make the most of your time outside of training.  Many Rambert School graduates have told us how important it is to reduce the pressure on yourself with your training by having other hobbies to fill your time outside of the studio as well.

2 Recognise how well you’re doing.  It can be daunting as a student in training balancing stresses and pressure while being tired.  Tiredness can amplify any feelings of loneliness, sadness or being away from your home comforts.  But remember that you’ve come a long way, having moved away from home and everything familiar to follow your dream.  So give yourself a pat on the back and write down all the things that are going well, like a reverse bucket list of all your big and little achievements.

3 Use tech differently.  It’s possible to feel like you should be more connected than ever with the sheer amount of technology nowadays but it can leave us craving real connections.  So use your technology in different ways.  Hearing someone’s voice on a phone call or seeing there face on a video call can help you to relax and engage more.  So phone home to re-connect.

4 Tell people that you’re homesick.  If you voice your feelings or articulate your mood it helps you to acknowledge your current mental health.  Accepting how you feel without judgement is one thing but letting the people around you know how you’re feeling helps them to empathise, open up themselves and direct you to support.

Hopefully these ideas will spark some conversations which will help you to connect to those around you and if you need support while at Rambert School there is a strong network for student support.  For anyone else Student Minds is a great charity that supports university and higher education students and is run by the UK Mental Health charity Mind.