Starting (or returning to) study can change your whole routine: new people, new expectations, new spaces, and often a new home. Even when you’re excited, you can still feel lonely or homesick — and that’s common.
This page focuses on gentle ways to build connection without forcing yourself to be “more social” than you can manage. You can go slow. You can try one thing at a time. You can take breaks.
Important: If loneliness starts to feel like hopelessness, or you’re struggling to stay safe, reach out to a trusted person or local crisis support. You deserve support right away.
Friendship usually grows through repeated small contact, not big social moments. If you’re neurodivergent, anxious, or burned out, that’s even more true.
If “making friends” feels too big, aim for one safe person — a classmate, tutor, student support worker, librarian, or peer mentor. One connection can change everything.
Loneliness is often treated like a personal failure — but it’s usually a human response to change, stress, and uncertainty. The words you use about yourself matter.
If loneliness or homesickness is affecting sleep, appetite, motivation, or safety, support can help — you don’t have to wait until it’s “bad enough.”