The first thing to realize about culture shock is that it’s perfectly natural to experience it. Despite how often culture shock occurs, though, a lot of people are resistant to talk about it, and that’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make. If you feel yourself going through culture shock, take some time to reach out to others, especially other travelers, for help in adjusting to your new culture.
One of the other things you can do is force yourself to engage more in the culture that you’re immersed in. This can be difficult to do, because part of culture shock is feeling unhappy with the culture. But, as Robert Frost once said, “The best way out is always through.” Going out and interacting with the culture that surrounds you is going to help you overcome some of the difficulties you’ll be encountering.
Another thing that many people don’t think about is making sure to stay healthy while in their new home. One of the things that people with culture shock are tempted to do is stay home and eat junk food. It’s understandable, but it’s also unfortunate, because eating well and staying physically active can play an important role in not only staying physically healthy, but mentally healthy as well.
Staying in touch with your family and friends back home can be an important tool to help you avoid culture shock. Luckily, today it’s easier to do this than ever before – in addition to making long-distance phone calls and writing letters or postcards, you also have the option of using tools like webcams, email, and social networks to take part in more immersive conversations with people. Family and friends are often the foundation that we build our sense of self upon, so keeping the foundation strong can be essential in working through your feelings of culture shock.
Lastly, make sure to keep a realistic perspective. The honeymoon stage of culture shock involves you getting an unrealistically positive idea of the culture you’re immersed in, but the next stage involves an unrealistically negative idea of it, coupled with an unrealistically positive idea of your culture at home. Like they say, “the grass is often greener on the other side” – it’s important to keep a level head about your experience and remember that neither side is full of green grass and roses. Saving Changes...
Deepa KalangiManager, Program Management, Author, Trainer| CVS HealthCharlotte, NC, United States
Keeping an open mind, embracing the new change with optimism, thinking straight, staying physically active definitely helps. Forming support groups, seeking from friends and family is always very important whether it is a culture shock from workplace or a new country or even a new town and a new set of people in the neighborhood. Saving Changes...
I think the best thing to do is not only embrace the change, but to also set the mindset to understand that the culture shock is normal and that time is the best healer. It could be a while before you or the other person adapts to the culture, but everyone eventually does it. It's also important for people to understand that although a culture does things 1 way, there might be other ways to do it. Just because your culture has done something a certain way for as long as you can remember, doesn't mean that other people are wrong in the way they do something. There's more than 1 way to skin a cat, and I think that refers to a lot of what happens with culture shock. People don't understand that value and actions can be subjective in nature and not hold an objective truth. Once you understand that 1 way of doing something is not the only way, it makes it easier to overcome culture shock as you realize it's simply ANOTHER (maybe awesome) way of doing something. Saving Changes...
Anton OosthuizenSenior Business Analyst / Project Manager| Self EmployedPretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
I believe there is a general consensus in the responses with which I agree - Accept it and work with it, not against it. Remember that it is not only you who experience this culture difference as you move outside your environment but also those who encounter you while you are outside your environment. There are people that just cannot adapt and while they might be good at what they do it is better for them to remain in their comfort zone.
Simple things as mentioned - learn basic words/phrases, try the local cuisine, engage locals and importantly, respect their beliefs no matter what it is. Saving Changes...
Sachendra SinghProject Manager| TATA Consultancy ServicesPerrysburg, Oh, United States
Take it as an opportunity. Most of us gets into such situations. Be open and try to adapt good things. Saving Changes...
RAJESH K LProject Manager, PMP| Bharat Electronics, Bengaluru, IndiaBengaluru, Karnataka, India
Managing the Change professionaly is the Key. Discuss and communicate the conflicts / issues in open forum to address outstanding issues.
Communication is the Key. Saving Changes...
Diana BallesterosProject Management Specialist| EMERSON Isolation - Australia Australia
Open Mind, being loyal to your core values, willigness to listen and not being afraid of asking questions in a respectful manner as well as being mindful of the culture you're moving into is what I has helped me to deal with similar situations. I migrated 5 years ago from a country where I had built a professional name and had relevant experience but my new environment had different processes, activities, social rules and so. Giving myself the opportunity to learn and live their culture without that being in disagreement with my own values had a huge impact in both personal and professional as neither did I lose my hometown cultural essence nor I got lost into the new one. Even now, being within the project management side of the business I work for; actively listening to other stakeholders, acknowledging their experience, asking questions on how similar situations have been handled before; inmersing into their social activities even business related has provided me a better insight of their working culture and hence I have been able to integrate better. Saving Changes...
Hi, Foaud.
I've been experiencing similar feeling about the "cultural shock", and there are some tips a facilitator once gave me that I believe to be very helpful in this situation, either in professional or social life.
- First is to acknowledge the culture you are merging. it's important to understand that every culture has good/bad things, and try to look at the good side. Embrace it and learn from it.
- Be prepared for the end of the honeymoon phase. We're all familiar with this stage and it's important to understand that this is also a phase. Normally after that comer a more negative perspective of the cultural shift. Be prepared for this is essential.
- Evolve in different activities in the new culture. It seems obvious, but I know many people living in a foreign country that keep doing things their way, without giving any chance to get to know the country they are in.
- Talk to people. Tell them about your country and let them talk about theirs. Find ways to connect and fell part of the new place.
- Be grateful. Also cliche, but it's fascinating to be able to learn from different people, and experiment different things. It's a chance for self-development, personal and professional. Saving Changes...
Shawn RathbunSenior Consultant| DPT Houghton, Mi, United States
As someone else said, you can't avoid it. Learning as much as you can about the culture is important to prepare yourself but it is important to keep an open mind to continue learning! Learning the essential polite phrases will be appreciated by those from that culture. And try to take a curious point of view is respectful and helps you learn. For example, "That is different from what I'm accustomed to and I wonder why it is that way." At all costs, avoid judgemental thinking - my mantra, "It's not good, it's not bad - it is different." Saving Changes...
I cannot fathom how important it is to have an open mind, especially in a diverse culture atmosphere. Embrace it, seek improvements and most importantly, understand it as some people may have never experienced what the other person has gone through. Saving Changes...
Cultural shock is indeed a big shock for many who go as expatriates in other countries. Most of this shock is because of diet change, atmosphere and being homesick. These problems can be solved by making friends as earliest as possible, exercising properly and usage of fruits in the diet. If your health is right your performance remains top as well because mind performs better when a body has enough energy to support it. Saving Changes...
