Homesickness vs Depression: How to Tell the Difference After Moving Abroad
Updated: Aug 8
Have you recently moved abroad and found yourself wondering whether you're depressed—or simply homesick?
You're not alone.
Many people expect moving abroad to be exciting. But alongside the adventure often comes grief, loneliness, uncertainty, and emotional exhaustion. For some people, these emotional changes can also make anxiety feel much stronger than before moving. If that's something you've experienced, you may also find my article on Why Is My Anxiety Worse After Moving Abroad? helpful. Homesickness can look surprisingly similar to depression, making it difficult to know what's happening.
As a psychologist working with people living abroad, this is one of the questions I hear most often.
The answer isn't always straightforward, but understanding the difference is important.
Moving abroad is a major life transition
Relocating to another country isn't simply changing your address.
Psychologically, it often means losing many of the things that help us feel emotionally safe:
Family and close friends
Familiar routines
Your native language
Cultural norms
Professional identity
Everyday predictability
Researchers have consistently found that migration represents one of the most significant life stressors a person can experience because it requires adapting to multiple simultaneous changes while rebuilding social support and identity (Bhugra, 2004; Berry, 1997).
Feeling emotionally overwhelmed during this period does not automatically mean something is wrong with you.
When can homesickness resemble depression?
There is considerable overlap.
Both may involve:
Sadness
Fatigue
Reduced motivation
Difficulty concentrating
Sleep changes
Appetite changes
Withdrawal from others
This overlap explains why it can sometimes feel difficult to know what you're experiencing.
However, context matters.
A psychologist should always consider what has recently happened in your life before interpreting your symptoms.
Depression is more than feeling sad
Major depression typically involves a persistent pattern of symptoms lasting at least two weeks that significantly affect daily functioning.
These symptoms often include:
Persistent low mood
Loss of pleasure in activities that previously felt enjoyable
Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
Hopelessness
Significant changes in sleep or appetite
Difficulty thinking clearly
Thoughts that life is not worth living
Unlike homesickness, depression often affects many areas of life regardless of where you are or what you are doing.
If you'd like to understand more about how depression can present after relocating, I've written a more detailed guide on Expat Depression: Why Living Abroad Can Feel So Much Harder Than You Expected.
Questions that may help distinguish them
Rather than asking:
"What's wrong with me?"
It may be more helpful to ask:
What have I recently lost?
What has changed in my life?
Am I grieving something?
When do I feel better?
Do I still experience moments of enjoyment?
Do my emotions change depending on my environment?
People experiencing homesickness often notice their mood temporarily improves after speaking with loved ones, visiting familiar places, or beginning to build meaningful routines.
With depression, these positive moments tend to become less frequent or disappear altogether.
Both can exist at the same time
The distinction is not always either-or.
Someone can experience homesickness and also develop depression.
In fact, prolonged social isolation, chronic stress, and lack of support can increase vulnerability to depression over time.
This is one reason early support during relocation can be so valuable.
Why context matters
One of the biggest mistakes we can make is looking only at symptoms while ignoring the person's environment.
Psychological difficulties rarely occur in a vacuum.
Human behavior makes more sense when we understand the context in which it occurs.
After moving abroad, emotional distress is often an understandable response to significant change rather than evidence that something is inherently wrong with you.
That doesn't mean your suffering isn't real.
It means your experiences deserve to be understood within the broader story of your life.
Looking only at symptoms without considering someone's life circumstances can lead us to overlook the impact of major life transitions like migration.
If you're currently looking for psychological support while living in Spain, you can also learn more about my approach as an English-speaking psychologist in Spain.
When should you seek professional support?
Consider reaching out if:
Your symptoms have persisted for several weeks without improvement.
You feel unable to function in daily life.
You have stopped engaging in activities that previously mattered to you.
Feelings of hopelessness continue to increase.
You experience thoughts of harming yourself.
Your distress feels overwhelming regardless of the cause.
Whether you're experiencing homesickness, depression, or both, you don't have to navigate it alone.
Final thoughts
Moving abroad changes far more than your location.
It changes your relationships, routines, identity, language, and sense of belonging.
Feeling emotionally affected by those changes is often a deeply human response—not a personal failure.
Understanding the difference between homesickness and depression isn't about minimizing either experience.
It's about making sure your emotional struggles are understood in the context of everything you've been through.
About the Author
Hi, I'm Malin Veland, a licensed psychologist based in Madrid, Spain. I work with women living abroad who are struggling with anxiety, loneliness, perfectionism, identity changes, and the emotional challenges that can come with building a life in a new country.
Having lived abroad myself for many years, I understand that relocating can affect far more than your address—it can change your sense of belonging, confidence, relationships, and emotional well-being.
My approach is grounded in evidence-based psychology and always considers the context of your experiences, not just your symptoms.
If you're finding that life abroad feels harder than expected, you don't have to navigate it alone.
I offer online therapy in English, Norwegian, Swedish and Spanish to clients living around the world, as well as in-person sessions in Madrid.
You may also find these articles helpful
Why Is My Anxiety Worse After Moving Abroad? → Understand why relocation often amplifies anxiety and what can help.
Expat Depression: Why Living Abroad Can Feel So Much Harder Than You Expected → Learn how depression can develop after relocation and when to seek support.
English Speaking Psychologist in Spain → Looking for therapy in English? Learn more about my approach and how to get started.
References
Berry, J. W. (1997). Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation. Applied Psychology, 46(1), 5–34.
Bhugra, D. (2004). Migration and mental health. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 109(4), 243–258.
Stroebe, M., Schut, H., & Nauta, M. (2015). Homesickness: A systematic review of the scientific literature. Review of General Psychology, 19(2), 157–171.
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