coping with missing your family/friends/partner.

how do you cope with being away from home. or if your loved one is away.
i like to think of us adults as usually being independent and wholly self dependable.
but i think it is the human challenge that we need familiar faces, surroundings etc.
when you are far from home, or if your loved one is away for a while, what coping mechanisms do you usually put into place?
and then the ultimate separation where the person is no more.
Every step of the way it is advisable to be strong. and not to be over come with weak emotions. but we are humans. not robots.
this is a world that is so fast moving.
how to trust people we have just met? now that is another topic altogether but maybe we can address it here together with all the rest of the queries i have raised.
thanks.