The Psychological Challenge of the Migrant: What is it and How Should it Be Faced?

“Where are you from?” This is a question that a tourist would expect to hear but for a person who has been in that place for years it makes them feel like they don’t belong, that they are different and that they are not yet recognized as part of the environment. Being different in an environment can bring psychological consequences that during migration will add to the migratory grief

Traveling and getting to know new places is a pleasure for many. When we enjoy a vacation it is common for the tourist environment to see us differently from them, the tourist is not part of the inhabitants of the place and is passing through, therefore the local expects that special visit many times as an economic dynamic.

For tourists, getting to know new cultures and receiving the services available and prepared for them can be a stimulating and pleasant experience for many. But if this situation is not temporary and on the contrary is permanent, then it has another connotation for both the environment and the new inhabitant.

How does it feel to be a migrant?

The definition of “alienation” is used to try to understand the effect of a person leaving their country and deciding to build a new life in a different place “Alien” is an adjective that indicates the other, the alien, the different, the one who is not a citizen and that definitely marks a social distancing, therefore “alignment” is the mental condition characterized by the loss of the sense of belonging.

The psychotherapist Victor Frank, who suffered a loss of sense of belonging when he was confined in a Nazi concentration camp, tells us in his book “Man’s Search for Meaning” how being in an environment so different from one’s own can affect psychologically and if that environment worsens by showing rejection, the risk is even higher since the sense of identity can be lost and, worse, the meaning of life.

In these times of war and sociopolitical factors, migration becomes a reasonable path for many people. However, there is a condition that surpasses migratory motives and perceptions and that is the status in the new place. Beginning to have the needs that had already been met becomes a difficult challenge to bear. Having to work again on the most basic needs such as recognition as a citizen, academic, family and social recognition, is a painful path that the immigrant takes

These needs for recognition, which according to Maslow are due to the primary needs of every human being and which had usually already been achieved in their countries, and starting over in the pyramid of needs leads to having to accept a personal loss of time, effort, journey and fundamental rights which is recognition as a citizen.

The migratory grief

When we weigh the cost of loss when faced with a decision to change, due to the economy of life we ​​resist losing we have invested time, effort, money and motivation, but in this evaluation it is decided to settle in a new country even though the loss is great because life, security, and the economy are valued and although these factors weigh more, they do not prevent the mourning the losses.

Therefore, the duration and intensity of migration grief depends not only on the material losses and family relationships but also on the loss of recognition and belonging. Sometimes the transition of this grief becomes more difficult if there is discrimination in the new environment. and feeling of alignment.

Grief, which is pain due to loss, involves several stages and the feeling of uncertainty is a constant in the process. If this uncertainty remains intense, it can cause anxiety. However, the work area of ​​an emigrant is usually uncertain, as well as the family area of ​​those who stayed and the new family to be built, the social area depends on social acceptance, the academic area usually stagnates waiting for approvals, for example. Therefore, the psychological challenge of migration is personal and depends on several environmental factors. If you are going through this adverse situation and there are difficulties in carrying out this process, it is best to seek professional help to overcome this stage