The Counseling Center can help you cope with challenges regardless of whether you feel your concern is common and relatively simple to overcome or if you view your concern as uncommon and as one that leaves you feeling alone and hopeless. In the example below we discuss a common problem experienced by many students at Allegheny.
Most of us have a connection to a place we call home, some place familiar, or where we grew up. It can be challenging and, at times, even painful to move some place new and experience a longing to feel the comfort of home.
When you left home to come to Allegheny, you may or may not have experienced homesickness. Some Allegheny students get caught up in activities early in the semester or become so involved in new friendships that they nearly forget about their former lives. Others may start out feeling very excited about beginning college, then experience homesickness after a few weeks. Still others find changes and the unfamiliar to be frightening from the very beginning and may experience homesickness from a few days up to an entire semester. The challenge can be compounded for those of you who are of an ethnically or culturally diverse group, are Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual, or identify with any other group that may be underrepresented at Allegheny. It can be challenging to try and replace or continue your search for supports that you need. It can also be challenging to feel the effects of being simply underrepresented here.
Homesickness can be experienced by any of us when we find ourselves faced with trying to satisfy our needs in new surroundings with new people. Each of us has ways we usually cope with change, as well as different tolerances for change. Homesickness refers to the many feelings associated with leaving home, including: fearing change, grieving losses, fearing the future, feeling sad and feeling alone, among others. In some instances, homesickness may even develop into anxiety or a depression.
Homesickness has no simple cure, but it also doesn't have to last forever. At times, simply being able to talk about your experience of leaving home can help. What follows are some strategies students have used in the past to make the transition from home to Allegheny smoother:
Homesickness, like many other concerns that students face, is somewhat common. In addition to the suggestions shared above, there are other ways to cope with homesickness. The Counseling Center can help you cope with this or any other concern you are experiencing. Stop by Rm. 304 in Reis Hall or call ext. 4368 set up an appointment.
Adapted directly from: a non-referenced article on The Center For Personal and Professional Development's Home page, Information from Allegheny College's Office of Residence Life and Allegheny College's Counseling Center.
