Lonely & Homesick
It is normal to experience feeling lonely and homesick when you come to university, as you are away from your usual support network of family and friends. Often, your first year at university is about finding your feet and developing friendships. During this time, you can find yourself spending more time alone than you thought you would, which is more common than you would expect.
In order to feel a sense of belonging, it is important to develop friendships. It is less important how many friends you have, and more important the quality of the relationship. Initially, some people will form quick connections to feel they belong and others will take longer to build these connections. Both are normal student experiences, but it can make you feel lonely if you take a little longer to build these relationships. Try not to be too hard on yourself. University is a great place to make friends, as many people are open to developing new relationships. You can do this by joining societies, sports clubs, student representation, halls, classes, and tutorials. It starts by reaching out to others, which is the first step to forming these friendships.
What support do we offer?
Student Services is here to help you if you are feeling lonely and homesick. We can help you develop your confidence to reach out and develop new relationships. You can book an appointment to speak to a member of staff or email support.advice@st-andrews.ac.uk for advice.
Alternative Internal Support
If you would like to access some self-help materials here are a list of alternative support resources.
- ShelfHelp, which provides eBooks or physical copies which can help you improve your interpersonal effectiveness and confidence.
- TogetherAll - a safe, online community where people support each other anonymously to improve mental health and wellbeing. (This service is available until February 2023. After this time, we recommend students reach out to SHOUT).
- Your Union – University of St Andrews
- Saints Sport – Student Sport
- Peer Support
- Saints Sport Peer Support