Emigrating has become an increasingly common action due to the ease of travel today and the fact that communication channels are becoming more advanced every day, facilitating information. However, emigrating is not a decision that should be taken lightly for several compelling reasons.
Unfortunately, there are misconceptions about emigrating that have encouraged the normalization of this action. Little has been said about the emotional and psychological risks that can lead to a bad or sudden emigration decision.
But how can emigrating affect us psychologically and emotionally if we are in search of a better life?
Simply due to the false expectations that the normalization of emigration causes , the lack of information can affect us to the point of triggering depression, anxiety and adaptation problems, where the stress of the simple fact of emigrating is the protagonist. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness about the psychological risks of emigrating because we want to or not.
Our mind, no matter how strong it is, is going to run into murky waters when faced with a change as big as emigrating to another country. Of course, there are different types of emigration and not everyone goes through the same circumstances, but depression, anxiety and other stressors can affect us more than we think if they catch us off guard.
Many changes are involved in the life of any person when emigrating , whether it be going to study for a few months or being determined to look for better opportunities abroad for an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately, emigrating is not synonymous with a better quality of life as many believe, since you have to go through previous adaptation periods to be able to recover part of the lifestyle you had, and not just the monetary one as many believe. Emigrate It also involves other types of losses and like any loss, sooner or later a grieving process develops.
The life of every individual is made up of multiple areas that make up their full development and that are therefore very likely to be affected when emigrating: (Ziglar, 7 areas of life):
Grief and stress due to emigration
As mentioned above, when you emigrate you will suffer grieving processes due to the change. Every change generates stress, and all this can affect our emotional world thus triggering possible psychopathologies (Lavieri, 2015).
Cultural change, nostalgia, loneliness , lack of social identification, anxiety and acute stress can also affect the immune system. Many immigrants do not seem to suffer any type of disturbance or anxiety during the first months of having moved, either because they only went to study for a short period of time, the excitement of finding themselves in a new environment or because they have family and friends in the new one. country that helps them adapt a little faster.
However, eventually social and cultural factors will affect the cognitive maps, creating the famous cultural clashes, differences in the way of working and even studying.
For example, education systems vary from country to country just as work styles can also vary (e.g. new technologies).
Considerations when emigrating
To avoid as much as possible the possible adverse psychological effects of emigration, it may be useful to follow these guidelines:
And the relatives of those who leave?
For the families of emigrants, it may be useful for the person leaving to follow these guidelines:
Conclusion
Emigrating is not a simple decision, and Like any decision, it requires a lot of maturity. to make the change as bearable as possible. It is necessary to understand the risks of emigration and the false expectations that are generated by seeing going to another country as something popular.
If proper measures and precautions are taken, emigrating can be less risky and can even take us where we want to go with the best tools, making the most of new experiences.
Bibliographic references:
Ziglar, T. (2016). The Wheel of Life. Available at https://www.ziglar.com/articles/the-wheel-of-life/
