After the honeymoon phase of living in a different culture culture shock can make daily life feel like constantly living with a low-grade fever where everything takes more effort. Here are a few things you can do to diminish the effects of culture shock.
- Get out of the house- When you are struggling with culture shock, it is very tempting to circle the wagons and lock yourself inside your home. It is a big scary world out there and it seems so overwhelming to go outside and deal with it.
- Stay connected to people and things– Make sure that you stay in contact with people from back home. Old friends and family ground you and remind you that you have roots. Physical objects also ground you. When we moved overseas, we brought our entire collection of books. It was expensive and a lot of work but now I feel like I have all of my old friends here and it makes me feel more at home. Home is where my books are.
- Make the unfamiliar more familiar – Learn the language and culture of where you are living. The more you learn, the more you will understand what is going on, why people do what they do and the more familiar it becomes, the less draining it will be on your brain.
