The gap-year expert
‘You start to feel at home’
John Boughton, managing director, Real Gap Experience
For most people, their gap-year break is the first time they will be away from friends and family for an extended period of time and it can be quite a shock.
I remember arriving in San José, Costa Rica, on my first set of travels. Those first hours in a completely new city, trying to communicate in a language with which you’re not familiar, are hard.
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In my experience, if you’re going to have that intense homesickness, it’s at the beginning. Little by little, you start to feel at home, you become a little bit better at the language, and you relax.
Take the plunge: really try to immerse yourself in the culture and generally you’ll find, as I did, that the places you visit will soon feel like a home from home.
The family psychologist
‘Tell them it’s OK to feel sad’
Dr Jennifer Leonard, founder, ukparentcoaching.co.uk
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Anyone can feel homesick, from young children to adults who have moved away from home. It’s a normal reaction to leaving behind familiar environments and friends. Reactions vary, from feeling a little bit sad to feeling quite withdrawn, to physical feelings as well.
Tackle the emotional side first: empathise with the feelings, normalise the situation, and say that it’s OK to feel like this. It may help to give a child a calendar, to cross off the days that they will be away, because young children don’t have a very good concept of time. Get them to take something with them, a toy, a blanket, a photo, and let them know how they can contact you, when you will ring them, and what to expect.
The homeopathic doctor
‘There are specific remedies’
Dr Charlotte Mendes da Costa, GP and homeopathic doctor
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In finding the best homeopathic remedy for a patient, all his or her symptoms need to be taken into account. A patient might need a remedy particular to his or her constitution but there are also some specific remedies for homesickness.
Phosphoric acid (for a child who is sickly, stressed out or tired), capsicum (for chubbier children, normally boys, who are hyper), or ignatia (mostly for girls or women who are sensitive/easily excited).
You can tell it is working when they are more contented. Adults will feel as if they have had a little pick-me-up. With homeopathy there are no side-effects; it’s easy to take, it’s safe for children, in pregnancy and if you are breastfeeding.