You will, like most people, experience a culture shock when you come into contact with a culture that is different from your own. You need to adapt to this new culture and that is very challenging. The 4 culture shock stages are all characterized by different emotions, and feelings, and coping strategies. You may feel confused, nervous, and frustrated, but also excited and happy. The culture shock stages are similar for most people who move abroad and are only recognized after a while. Even though a culture shock may be confusing to you and may give you the feeling as if you are in an emotional roller coaster, there are a lot of things you can do to reduce the impact of each of the culture shock stages.
Culture shock stage 1: honeymoon stage.
During this period, you may see the differences between the old and new culture in a romantic light. For example, in moving to a new country, you might love the new food, the pace of life, and the locals’ habits. During the first few weeks, most people are fascinated by the new culture. Like most honeymoon periods, this stage eventually ends
Culture shock stage 2: rejection stage
Of all culture shock stages, the rejection stage is the most difficult to deal with. For example it might be important to you to be on time for appointments, then it can be quite annoying when others are always late. After some time (usually around three months, depending on the individual), differences between the old and new culture become apparent and may create anxiety. Your excitement may eventually give way to unpleasant feelings of frustration and anger as you continue to experience unfavorable events that may be perceived as strange and offensive to your cultural attitude. Language barriers, stark differences in public hygiene, traffic safety, food accessibility and quality may heighten your sense of disconnection from your surroundings.
When living in a different country there are practical difficulties to overcome, such as circadian rhythm disruption that often leads to insomnia and daylight drowsiness; adaptation of gut flora to different bacteria levels and concentrations in food and water and difficulty in seeking treatment for illness, as medicines may have different names.
However, the most important change in the period is communication: While adjusting to a new culture you may feel lonely and homesick because you are not yet used to the new environment and you meet people with whom you are not familiar with every day. The language barrier may become a major obstacle in creating new relationships.
If you are a student studying abroad, you may develop additional symptoms of loneliness that will affect your lifestyle. Due to the strain of living in a different country without parental support, as an international student you might often feel anxious and feel more pressure while adjusting to new cultures—even more so when the cultural distances are wide.
Culture shock stage 3: adjustment stage
By now you will know your way around your new town or city. You have got used to the new lifestyle and understand where your irritations and frustrations came from and you are not as bothered by minor cultural differences. During the adjustment stage you probably begin to focus more on things that really matter to you: work, family life, sports, and hobbies.
Unfortunately, a few things may still cause little annoyance. Most expats feel a little bit of an outsider, and fitting in can be difficult and don’t feel completely accepted by locals. Others miss that click with people like they have with friends back home. And for some expats it remains difficult to deal with a few cultural differences. This is one of the most confusing of the culture shock stages because you feel better than before but you’re not quite there yet.
Culture shock stage4: adaptation stage
Finally, you‘ve reached the last one of the culture shock stages. By now you can accept the differences. You’ve borrowed some behaviours, rituals, or habits from a foreign culture and you can have a good laugh about a few silly ones of your own. You feel more accepted and you even notice that you are starting to find certain things back home strange. It’s important to realize that you slowly change. Your sense of self is reevaluated, and you can now hover above your own culture, rituals and habits and see them from someone else’s perspective. This is one of the culture shock stages where you feel a little distance between you and your own culture. Not a big one, but it’s noticeable.
Symptoms of a culture shock
- Sadness.
- Loneliness.
- Melancholy.
- Longing for family.
- Feeling of being lost.
- Mood swings.
- Feeling vulnerable.
- Aches and pain.
- Obsession over cleanliness.
- Preoccupation with health.
- Sleeping problems.
- Feeling frustrated.
- Being easily angered.
- Loss of identity.
- Lack of confidence.
