Whilst it may not be an official medical term, culture shock is something very real and something which really is not enjoyable. I you haven’t heard of this before it can best be described as being the freak out which many people have when they are traveling in or moving to a new country. Four years ago this happened to me and I only got through it thanks to a friend of mine Nabil Fakih. Nabil moved to the UK from Egypt when he was 18 and during our friendship he often told me how he had suffered from massive culture shock when he came to the UK. I had remembered this when I moved to Mexico 4 years ago and I went through everything that he had described to me. After a couple of days I gave Nabil a call and he was able to help me from his own experience. If you are facing this, here is how to get over it.

Finding a Foundation

The root of culture shock is that you are completely lost, everything is different and your mind just struggles to cope with it. It is for this reason that one of the first things which you need to do is try your best to build a foundation by continuing how you lived life back home. Find the nearest supermarket, find out where the bank is and other amenities which you are going to use. Much of the feeling of culture shock is a feeling of being lost so as soon as you work out your environment you can start too feel better.

Make Friends

It is very important that you make friends and acquaintances as soon as you can. A large part of why culture shock is so impactful is because you are also feeling alone, as well as lost. This is why you need to take every opportunity to meet people and make friends, so that you can start to feel more like you are a part of a community. There are so many ways in which you can do this and in the digital age it has never been easier to find groups of people with similar interests to you, no matter where you are in the world.

Staying Close

As much as this is a new adventure and should be treated as such, it will still help you a great deal to speak to your friends and family back home as regularly as you can, especially in the first couple of weeks when you are finding it difficult. Sometimes you just need to feel that comfort which friends and family can give you and it will be improtant that you talk to them about how you are feeling and what you are going through.

Culture shock isn’t debilitating but it can really affect you heavily in your mind, which is why you must take action when it happens.