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Five Ways to Well-being

So you’ve started Warwick and it’s time to live the student life of your dreams. Everyone else seems confident, sure of themselves and having a great time… but why not you? Being away friends family and your usual routines can be challenging. It can lead to feelings of homesickness, fatigue or stress. The NUS’s research in homesickness have found that 60-70% of students experience this so you are not alone.

Well-being 5

Here are some top tips for dealing with homesickness based on the Well-being 5 from the foresight project:

1) Notice your thoughts and feelings. By allowing yourself time to not you are experiencing you can gain an understanding of it. Take a moment just to savour a moment.
It is also key to remind yourself “this will pass”.
Also notice your routine, it is not unusual for this to be different. Think about how you can create a routine for yourself, this could be something like setting a morning alarm or ensuring you put an hour in your day for a relaxing activity.

2) Be active: Think about what helps you be energised. Exercise helps us combat stress, there are great sports facilities on campus. Also think about how you can eat well, there are a range of outlets for buying food. Make sure you have a small repertoire of healthy meals that you can cook in a few minutes. This will become invaluable on days that you are pressed for time. Don’t have caffeine in the evening and if it is hard to sleep because of noise talk to your residential life team.

3) Give: Research shows that by giving you can feel better about yourself. It could be something as simple as sharing a smile with someone but also think about volunteering, it looks great on the CV and can help you get involved in meaningful work with other students. There is a volunteers fair on Friday 3rd October.

4) Keep learning: If you are having academic difficulties or concerned about your course then speak to your personal tutor. They are there to support you and make sure you get the most out of your studies. Don’t rush a decision and find out what your options are.

5) Connect with people: Take some time to talk to those that you miss, but also explore new opportunities such as joining a society.
If things do not improve or you want support in managing then the university has an array of student support services. Who can advise and support you.
You may feel that your problems are not severe enough but if they are effecting you then what have you got to lose by asking. You might be worried about the outcome of asking but if you have tried to solve the problem without success then what is there to lose?

Asking for help does not affect your academic record or future career prospects.