Missing your family is a natural emotional response when you are separated from them, along with all the familiar things to you. Humans have experienced these emotions for as long as we’ve been on earth and they’re caused by the attachment to things we love and feel comfortable with since birth.
Family is still one of the most important things in our lives, even in this modern world where not all of us are privileged to have our family close to us. Some family members might be on the other side of the world, while some may have passed. Why do we miss our families so much?
If you experience the emotion of missing your family, don’t worry, you are not alone! Have you realized that you’ve been longing for your family? Continue reading with us as we discuss why you experience this emotion and the factors that contribute to this highly complex emotion.
Related Reading: 8 Ways Our Family Is Our Support
Missing Your Family
Wanting to be near somebody, not only just to hear their voice but also to see how their eyes sparkle in a smile, or to feel reassured by a soft touch on the arm, or a hug could become terribly painful.
Online platforms such as email, Facebook, Instagram, FaceTime, and Zoom have played a significant role when it comes to staying in touch and remaining a part of your family’s life, without it mattering how far you are from each other.
However, these things have no way of successfully replacing the intimacy we humans get from physical presence. Sometimes, missing your family members can become most prominent when you least expect it or when you notice it has been years since you saw a family member in the flesh.
Missing your family, or anyone else for that matter, is known to be a form of heartbreak and, when you feel it, you will know it.
You miss your family because they are your family! The older and more mature you get over the years, you will start to realize just how much your family means to you, despite the flaws they might have.
This is also considered homesickness, which is also a perfectly normal emotional response. You thus become more and more aware of your own and your family’s mortality.
You will tend to ignore any bad times experienced in the past and focus on the positives of your family.
Related Reading: Examples of Family Gatherings & What They Mean
Reasons Why You Are Missing Your Family
You may be wondering what causes the hole you have in your heart, which causes you to miss your family.
When missing your family, there are some feelings you might have experienced that make you miss them even more:
Enjoying Home-Cooked Meals Together
Enjoying a delicious home-cooked meal made by your mother or father and sitting around a large table eating is one of the largest components of feeling at home.
After a long day, you might be yearning for that family time that comes with sharing a meal around a table with your family.
Playing With Neighbours and Childhood Friends
When you are far away from your childhood home, you may not have had the privilege of still seeing the childhood friends you used to play with almost every day.
Although you may have made plenty of new friends in your new area or town, you may still wonder what has happened with them and where they are in their lives now.
Having Your Family Close to You
Having their family around them is a type of comfort that many people take for granted. If you have ever been far away from your family before, in your childhood, you probably know how much they mean to you.
If you live far from your family now, as an adult, you may reminisce about simpler times when you could get in your car and drive to see your family.
The Comfort of Sleeping in Your Own Bed
The comfort of your bed is something that brings you peace of mind at the end of every long day. Because you grew up in your childhood bed, you will always see that bed as a haven.
Relaxing In Your Favorite Spot in Your Childhood Home
You may have a favorite spot in your family living room where you watched TV with your family and what seems like countless movie nights.
Now that you may be unable to visit that particular space in your adult life, you may feel nostalgic, wishing you had known when the last time was that you were peacefully relaxing on your favorite couch or chair.
Grabbing a Snack from Your Fridge or Pantry
As a child, you probably grabbed loads of snacks from your fridge or pantry any time you desired. It is often challenging to have this luxury when far away from home.
During difficult times when you do not have nice snacks in your fridge, you may be thinking of those simpler times when you were mindlessly sneaking snacks from your family’s fridge or pantry.
Your Home Being Decorated During the Holidays
Families often decorate their homes for special occasions and it soon becomes a tradition that many families hold on to.
Christmas or thanksgiving decorations turn a house into a home, and you may realize this during the holidays when you don’t get to spend the time with your family.
You may miss your family so much that you don’t feel the need to decorate your home or get into the spirit of the holidays.
Tips For Handling Missing Your Family
Mostly, homesickness and missing your family will go away on their own but, if it’s been getting worse, below are some helpful tips you can make use of when it gets extra bad:
Try To Focus on the Positives
Enjoy the differences that might be the reasons why you’re feeling homesick. Sometimes, it may help to take a step back and realize exactly where you are.
Don’t Call Home Too Much
Try not to call home every time you miss your family. When you’re constantly on the phone or on Zoom, you are entirely investing your energy back home, and you may miss out on your current life. It’s easy to feed into that negative energy and fall into a black hole.
Write Down Your Feelings
It might be a good idea to keep a journal. A journal might seem like a strange and unnecessary idea, but it’s great when you want to remind yourself that your current feelings are not permanent.
You can make a list of everything you miss about home and your family. Right next to that list, write up a list of all the things you’ve done and learned since you left. Remember, there will be good and bad days and they both will pass.
Make Some New Friends
Missing family leaves a massive hole in your heart, but you can fill this hole by making some friends! Family may be supportive, but they won’t necessarily understand what it feels like to be homesick.
Remember, your friends are likely also experiencing homesickness and they probably need you just as much as you need them!
Continue Reading: What Is It Like To Have No Family?
Conclusion
When you miss your family, try your best to visit them if you can. You have no way of knowing if you will get another opportunity to tell them that you miss and love them, so seize any chance you get! Never be afraid to tell your family you miss them; we are sure they miss you too!
If you are not able to miss your family, you can use the advanced technology we have available today to pick up the phone or schedule a video chat, although it will not be the same as seeing them in the flesh and hugging them.