Mental Health

I strongly believe in the importance of mental health. I will be discussing briefly about
psychological distress and loneliness. As you all may know that I was an exchange student
myself when I was 15. I did experience both distress and loneliness, which I was later diagnosed
of depression and anxiety a couple years ago. I am not here to say that you will experience them,
but there is a possibility. My goals here to raise the awareness and better understanding of mental
health in order for the upcoming students to be aware and prepared.

A little bit about my experience as an exchange student – when I first arrived, things did
not always go as planned and my English was really limited. I was always stressed and anxious
about everything going on in my life and I was missing home greatly. Evidently, I was sad (I had
zero knowledge or understanding of what depression or anxiety were). I still remember having a
tight chest and difficulty to breath almost every morning for months before school and even at
school. My initial thought was, “I am sick”. I never addressed it or brought it to anyone’s
attention. It just faded away as I got more comfortable being in the U.S. It was not a good feeling
and it definitely did affect me in school and my personal life.

It is important for you to pay attention to your mental well-being when you are studying
aboard. Hunley (2010) says that when you are constantly stressed, the harmful effects of stress
can cause anxiety and depression. It is also found that students with more anxiety have more
difficulty acquiring a second language than students with less anxious. Learning a new language,
adjusting to a new culture, and all these things that exchange students have to encounter will take
time. You have to give yourself time rather than pushing yourself too hard and stressing over
things that are uncontrollable. From my experience, time was the ultimate answer when it comes
to learning English and all those things. You have to remember to give it time. My first couple of
months were the worst, thinking about home, my parents, friends, and food. When you are away
from home, it is normal to be lonely and stressed because of all these new things you have to
figure out. I wish I had known more about mental health. Therefore, I want exchange students to
have a better understanding of mental health and ways to deal with stress and loneliness.
Some of you might have your own coping mechanisms, this is based on my experience and some
research I have found.

Here are a few tips that will hopefully facilitate some of the challenges you may face:

 Stressed about learning English? The most effective way to learn a language is to be
surrounded by native speakers. You might not understand everything they are saying, but
you brain will pick up. Do not spend hours in your room trying to learn the language
because you can only learn so much from that. Spend time with your host family or
friends. Try your best to have a conversation or interact with them.
 Stressed about not understanding anything? You have to give it time. I understand that
this is easier said than done but if you are too focused on how stressed you are or why
nothing makes sense, you will miss out on things in your life. Enjoy every moment with
your host family, friends at school, or even your neighbors. Just remember that there will
be good times and bow times, you need to embrace it all.
 Mindfulness? Can et al. (2020, p.4) state, this involves being more present at the moment.
To do that, you have to acknowledge the here and now as opposed to focusing on the past
or future. This can be just being aware of our surroundings and the environment, or of
what you are doing or eating.
 Physical activity? When you are stressed or lonely, being outside can really help. There
are so many activities you can do to mitigate your stress or loneliness whether that be,
going for walks, jogging, or just being outside in nature (Can et al., p. 2).
 Loneliness? Some people might not experience this at all. But if you do, you need to open
up and communicate with your host family. Yes, you can find activities, hang out with
friends, or find a movie to watch. I understand that it can be hard to make friends at first.
This is why communicating with your host family can very benefit you. Your host family
is local people, which means that most of them have connections and they might have
you cope with that by doing stuff with you or taking you places to show you around.
 Lastly, I just want to say as you become more and more accustomed to the culture and the
environment, things would get easier. You can listen to all these advice and tips, but it is
you who will finds way to cope with things at the end of the day.
 As far as I know, most exchange programs are 10 month long, which is one whole academic
year. Being gone for a year and being away from home, friends, and family can be very
terrifying for a lot of students. I was 15 when I became an exchange student. Moreover, it was
my first time being away from my parents and traveling outside of my country. I am sure most of
you have heard of homesickness and culture shock. Most student exchange programs will talk
about them at some point before your departure. If not, I have a few things to share with you.

I have not met anyone that did not experience the two while living abroad. Homesickness and
culture shock are part of the process of adjustment. Especially for those who are traveling outside
of the country for the first time and being away from your family. There is going to be a lot of
adjusting to do. It may sound frightening, but you will get through it. Before I go any further, I
would like to provide both definitions of homesickness and culture shock.

What is HOMESICKNESS? “The distress or impairment caused by an actual or anticipated

separation from home” (English et al., p. 1). It is important to be aware of this because it can
result in emotional and social difficulties. Homesickness may look different for different people.
The simplest way to explain this is when you are feeling sad or down, always thinking about
home, and not wanting to do anything. I experienced them all when I was away from home for
the first time. Three symptoms indicate homesickness.

What is CULTURE SHOCK? “The anxiety that results from losing all our familiar signs and
symbols of social intercourse” (Furnham, 2019, p. 1836). These can be a million different things
depending on where you are from. When you feel uncomfortable or surprised by things around
you. This can be food portion, different greetings, different food, different language, or even
styles of houses.
 Generally speaking, culture shock has 4 stages. However, it might not be the case
for everyone. Some might experience all four stages, and some might not. Also keep in
mind that if you were to look more into the stages of culture shock, different sources say
different things. I choose this particular one because it is the most relatable source for me.

1. Honeymoon Stage

This is the first stage of culture shock where you’re fascinated by all the exciting and
different aspects of your new life. This can be anything from people, food, cars, or
houses. You might find things you dislike at home likeable in your new location.
However, the honeymoon stage will end sooner or later.

Personally, this is the second stage I experienced. This stage did not happen until 3
months into my stay in the U.S.

2. Adjustment Stage

This is when you experience frustration and anxiety. Typically, when the excitement
gradually goes away, you are continually dealing with difficulties or uncomfortable
situations. You are constantly trying to adjust to a new environment. What most students
encounter is language barrier. Although, it is only one year, you start to realize that this is
your new life. This can lead to feelings of sadness, uncertainty, and anxiety.

Personally, I experienced this first before anything else. Everything was challenging and
depressing for. I have to admit that I cried a lot, but I got through it eventually. I also
want to note that I know some friends who did not miss their family whatsoever.
However, this is when you start to miss your friends and family back home.

3. Adaption Stage

This is the stage that we all look for. This is when things improve where life starts to get
better and routine sets in. The best way to explain this is when you do things without
having to think so hard about every little step. For example, knowing what classes to go
to next without having to look at the schedule, having friends to sit with at lunch,
knowing your Starbucks order. You are more comfortable and familiar with the new
language, people, and culture.

Note: you cannot expect some of the difficulties to magically disappear, but you will be
able to handle everything in a manageable way.

Personally, it took me approximately 6 months to be familiar with everything. This varies

depending on the person. It took me a relatively long time because I was very homesick
and kept to myself about my feelings. Once I got to this stage, things became easy and
natural to me. Yet, I still experienced some adversity, but I was able to live with them and
overcome them quickly.
4. Acceptance Stage

This is the last stage, which typically occurs as you are getting close to going back home.
You have a strong sense of belonging. It doesn’t necessarily mean you understand every
aspect new country, but you have accepted enough that it feels like home. This stage is
long-lasting and more stable.

I also want to give you a heads up about reverse culture shock or re-entry. This is a real
thing and I experienced it myself. Many of you might have heard of this or might not
have. When you head back home, you may realize that things are different from when
you left and feel like you do not longer belong there. You might also feel sad because
what you learned from the country you were in such as; customs and tradition are not
applicable in your home country. The process of adjustment and adaptation will happen
again.

Personally, it took me about a month to feel like home again. Different people deal with
this differently. It is fascinating how one year did to me. I spent 15 years of my life in my
home country and being gone for a year changed my perspective.
!!!If you are interested to learn more about what you just read. Here is
the list of all the references you can learn more from!!!
References

Can, Y. S., Iles-Smith, H., Chalabianloo, N., Ekiz, D., Fernández-Álvarez, J., Repetto, C., Riva,

G., & Ersoy, C. (2020). How to relax in stressful situations: a smart stress reduction

system. Healthcare, 8(2), 100. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8020100

Hunley, H. A. (2010). Students’ functioning while studying abroad: The impact of psychological

distress and loneliness. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 34(4), 386–392.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2009.08.005 

English, T., Davis, J., Wei, M., & Gross, J. J. (2017). Homesickness and

adjustment across the first year of college: A longitudinal study. Emotion (Washington,

D.C.), 17(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000235

Furnham, A. (2019). Culture shock: A review of the literature for Practitioners. Psychology,

10(13), 1832–1855. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2019.1013119

Winkelman, M. (1994). Cultural shock and adaptation. Journal of Counseling &

Development, 73(2), 121–126. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1556-6676.1994.tb01723.x