Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Expatriatitis

A New Disease?
Not really, just a term I conjured up to describe the process and stages which expatriate families will likely go through when moving from their home country to their host country. Uprooting your life and moving to a new place, where things are done differently, everything is in a different language is more than just a physical adjustment, but a psychological one as well. Besides changes in weather, housing, food, and even the way people drive, there are different feelings expatriates experience, such as loneliness, homesickness, missing family and friends, difficulty relating to others and making new friends with the common response manifested in stress. I know, I've felt it; even went from a size 14 back down to a size 10 in a matter of months. Not that I'm complaining about that part, but it is a sure sign of stress. Mine showed up in weight loss and anxiety but others I have talked to have experienced true depression and a feeling of loss. It is important to recognize the signs of depression starting to set in and do thing to make yourself happy. Don't let the negatives manifest into alienation. Make sure you don't start to be left out of the normal functioning of your host society. For instance, with my children attending a new school and experiencing new pressures, I began to find myself lacking a social network, and career or personal goals. It is a fact that family-related issues have been found to be the main contributor towards expatriate failure. If the family is unhappy, the employee is not able to perform well in the new job.

How to Combat Expatriatitis:

1. Prepare yourself and your family for what to expect on international assignment, some companies offer pre-departure cultural orientation. Ours didn't so I researched on the internet.
2. Spouses without career or personal goals during the assignment can feel a loss of self-identity. BINGO! This one hit me hard...and I knew it would. In fact, I'd mentioned to anyone that would listen before I left that this was my biggest concern - my leaving work and staying home without my friends. That is why I decided to take up the blog as a form of adjustment therapy. You could even do a personal journal if you wanted it to be more private and to write down your personal thoughts you don't want to share. I guess you could consider this a non-traditional approach, but writing helps you capture (and share if in a blog) your persective on your new home, yourself and others in your new environment.
3. Be realistic about your expectations
4. Be willingness to accept the challenges of intercultural experiences
5. Seek out and enjoy social interactions
6. Have empathy for others. Don't forget the clerk that is trying to communicate with you is frustrated too. Forgive them and you'll forgive yourself more readily as well.

7. Don't move if you are unable to successfully resolve external and interpersonal conflict and are not a people person. It will be very hard to acquire these traits if you don't already possess them.
8. WRITE A JOURNAL...Did I already say that? It is very therapeutic!

4 comments:

  1. I am enjoying your blog. My husband and I (Americans living in Greece) are coming to Prague in November and staying until March. I really do identify with your expatriatitus (IS that a word? Ha, ha) We lived in Ireland for 6 years prior to coming here...so we have done it twice! And yes, it certainly has it's ups and downs. Your advice is very good! Keep your chin up! Find something good in each day.....trite but true!

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  2. Blah, blah, blah "Prague". LOL. I think you left us long before you actually left. I think you're handling the new experience quite well, but don't know if I myself could do it. I think it would be hard. The blog is great and I love checking it out. We still miss you and have "What Would Peggy Do?" moments. LOL

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  3. Karin,
    Glad to hear you are reading and enjoying the blog. Coming to Prague for the winter is brave from what I hear (since I haven't experienced it yet). Five months isn't very long for you to adjust to the country...you'll have to let me know when you arrive and we will meet up for an espresso and I can hopefully give you some more tips on survival and hopefully even thrive here for your short stay! Definately check out Expats.cz where it is packed full of information about expat friendly places you will need. You can pick up the Expat.cz Survival Guide just about any hotel in town or you can go to http://www.expats.cz/prague/article/expats-info/expats-survival-guide/

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  4. Peg
    What a wonderful service you providing to others with all your blog and personal stories and feelings. I have great admiration for you and your new life in a host country with the challenges and also learning how far a person can extend themselves.
    LV MOM

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