When Being Away From Your Loved Ones Hurts Too Much: Ulysses Syndrome
There are people who wander the world with a divided heart, one foot here and the other there, belonging to many places or feeling that they belong to none, perhaps with a feeling of permanent loss that sometimes clouds everything… Ulysses Syndrome, also known as chronic and multiple stress syndrome.
This syndrome is today suffered by millions of people around the world. Surely you know someone who has their family far away, or who has been forced to emigrate, this person may be an adventurer and it is a change sought, or it may have been a decision made out of obligation, looking for something better, and for both with even more sacrifice or pain.
These people, whether with hidden or open discomfort, may not know what is happening to them and that they may feel better. If you are the one who feels this discomfort or know someone who is suffering from it, I invite you to spend a few minutes on this article, because the important thing is to know it in order to identify it and thus work to open a path towards better emotional well-being.
We’ll recap a little to remember, in case you haven’t heard this story in years. Ulysses is a demigod who was forced to separate from his loved ones and travel facing many adversities..
After several years in which there were both defeats and victories, he was not satisfied, his heart painfully longed for his wife and son. Homer’s Odyssey tells of this hero’s adventure into the unknown despite the nostalgia he feels for his family and the dangers he has to face.
Many heroes emigrated to conquer worlds, riches and prosper, culture has always filled us with stories of adventurers who ended well, but not so much of those “not exalted” who did not find that reality of triumph. For him, what he has achieved is not enough and it never would be, He would always feel that something important was missing, nostalgia would suffocate him. Ulysses is one of the best-known heroes of Greek mythology.
What characterizes Ulysses Syndrome?
When faced with a new situation or one that is challenging or threatening, the survival instinct awakens in us, we become stressed and this allows us to face the situation with our sharp senses: we pay greater attention to everything new, we are able to retain more information, we understand better our environment, its customs, etc. This state of alert allows us to better adapt to this new situation.
Furthermore, all this is accompanied by very strong emotions. It is natural that feelings are awakened by changes or important decisions.
These feelings can be contradictory, of joy for the new beginning or of loss for what you leave behind.; You can feel anger for not being able to have it all, suffer from pain if it has not been a chosen change, you can simply be sad or longing, or have anxiety for fear of uncertainty and perhaps not achieving your goals.
There are many situations in which we activate ourselves to overcome a challenge and these, even if they are good, involve an investment of extra energy on our part.
Faced with these changes that shake our foundations, test us and suddenly take us out of our comfort zone, We may feel overwhelmed or overwhelmed by the intensity of our feelings for too long.. When the stress or negative feelings that this situation produces in us are excessive or persistent, Ulysses Syndrome can develop.
The main warning signs
Ulysses Syndrome is considered to be between acute stress and adaptive disorders. It differs from these in that it involves the confluence of multiple stressors, its symptoms must last more than three months and its sadness is characterized by “losses” or “migratory grief.” The most notable due to their importance for people are the mourning that occurs for the family, for the social situation and for the loss of physical security.
Among other symptoms may involve crying, sadness, anxiety, recurring and intrusive feelings, tension, irritability, insomnia, worry, headaches, fatigue, memory and concentration problems, feelings of guilt, helplessness, etc. If these symptoms last too long or are very intense, take charge and seek professional help if you need it.
Does everyone who goes to live in a foreign country suffer from this problem?
No change is easy, even when emigrating is a solution to a problem, a goal, a dream… Starting over in another place is a challenge and always involves mixed feelings and a struggle to accept the sacrifice it entails.what you leave behind.
If it is also an unsought change, in which you do it for your family, for the hope of something better, to escape from famine, war… The stressful situation becomes much more difficult and more likely that the person You feel overwhelmed or have difficulty overcoming everything that has happened.
And sometimes, even if it is a good change, it can leave an imprint, an emptiness or an indelible longing. Even a person very adapted to their new life in another country may feel longing and need to surround themselves with people from their culture, region, religion, or begin to give more importance to the music or cuisine of their homeland. This is how he seeks to feel safe by surrounding himself with what is familiar to him. Every change entails an adaptation process and depends a lot on each person and their circumstances, but it is always a challenge.
