How do I survive culture shock?
- Culture shock is a more intense experience than the brief
discomfort people feel when confronting strange things to eat or unfamiliar social norms.
- Culture shock symptoms are brought on by a long period of
having to cope with unfamiliar ways of doing, organizing, perceiving, and valuing things.
- Culture shock symptoms include exaggerated homesickness,
excessive sleeping, loss of sense of humor, avoiding contact with local people, and frequent
periods of boredom or apathy.
- Reverse culture shock refers to the psychological and
emotional distress experienced by people when returning to their home country or culture after an
extended period of time living in a foreign culture or country.
- Coping mechanisms for culture shock include realizing what is happening to you, engaging
with your host culture, getting involved in a hobby, building a support network, and consciously
increasing your curiosity about the place where you serve.
Mission Briefing: Ideas Shaping World Mission Outreach Today
Cultural adjustment stages
People often think the feelings arising in encounters with strange foods or customs constitute
"culture shock." In reality, those brief moments of discomfort are not what
anthropologists mean by culture shock. Instead, anthropologists and psychologists use "culture
shock" to label the confusion, doubt, and nervousness common to people who have recently
begun living cross-culturally and who are also experiencing one or more of the following:
- Exaggerated homesickness
- Excessive sleeping
- Loss of sense of humor
- Avoiding contact with local people by spending hours on email, the internet, and social
media
- Suffering psychosomatic illnesses
- Frequent feelings of boredom or apathy
- Inexplicable bouts of weeping
- Eating compulsively
- Diminished ability to work effectively
- High level of irritability
- Hostility towards people of the host culture
- Jingoism or super-patriotism
- Stereotyping of people in the host culture
- Exaggerated attention to cleanliness
Real culture shock is thus more deep-seated than the momentary discomfort felt when
we confront strange things to eat or unfamiliar social norms. Culture shock is not the kind
of "shock" we have experienced when we say, "That really shocked me." Culture shock is more
like what a physical body experiences after a severe trauma and medical professionals say it has
gone "into shock."
What anthropologists call culture shock grows out of a long period of coping with unfamiliar
ways of doing, organizing, perceiving, and valuing things. Indeed, because people experience
culture shock symptoms over a period of time rather than in one isolated event, some
anthropologists say "cycle of adjustment" rather than "culture shock."
Culture shock symptoms will be quite evident in some people and less so in others.
Nonetheless, the cycle of adjustment (or culture shock) -- honeymoon, frustration, adjustment,
and acceptance -- is inevitable. Though culture shock is not a medical condition, the
psychological disorientation, withdrawal, and excessive sleeping can be compared to
organisms going into physical shock after a trauma.
Culture shock symptoms may come and go over a period of time. Describing her experiences
in Senegal, missionary Linda Louw said, "I thought culture shock was something that you got
through, and it was done, but it just keeps coming."
The sense of unease and heightened irritability common in the frustration stage can be
triggered by small things. The adjustment stage usually does not kick in until a person has
become familiar with and increasingly comfortable in a new culture.
Fortunately, the effects of culture shock can be somewhat mitigated. Here are half a dozen
coping suggestions:
- Realize what is happening to you and why.
- Remind yourself that this happens to every expatriate in varying degrees and that people do
regularly survive it.
- Refuse to succumb to the desire to withdraw from people. Choose instead to engage with
those of your host culture.
- Get involved in a hobby that involves in some way the place where you serve.
- Be bold about reaching out to people in your host culture to build a support network of
confidants. , Enlist individuals to help you improve your language and cultural acquisition.
- Consciously ratchet up your level of curiosity about the wildlife, geography, plant life,
history, literature, foods, social norms, folk tales, children's stories, proverbs, legends, and fables
of the place where.
Discussion questions
- What is the difference betw you serve een the brief discomfort people feel when
encountering strange foods or customs and what anthropologists mean by culture shock?
- What are some of the symptoms of culture shock that people may experience when living
cross-culturally?
- What is the cycle of adjustment, and how does it relate to culture shock?
- What coping mechanisms can individuals use to help mitigate the effects of culture
shock?
- Why might it be important to consciously increase one's curiosity about the place where they
serve when experiencing culture shock?
This mini-essay on a critical issue in world missions outreach is an article in the "Mission briefing" series published in
Engage, a monthly
online magazine.
Understanding culture stress
Survival skills for missionaries, foreign exchange students, and others
working to weather cultural shock as they bridge cultural differences
This animated diagram illustrates two paths people take during the four phases of long-term
cross-cultural encounters. Kalvero Oberg coined the term "culture shock" in 1954. It's a good
label for the psychological experience of adults during the cultural adjustment period that
accompanies a period of cultural socialization or acculturation (which is different from the
enculturation process experienced by children). The cultural adjustment period usually includes
some disorientation brought on by such things as being confused as to where the cultural
boundaries are.
The confusion and anxiety brought on by culture stress or shock may cause us to think, do or
say things that are contrary to God's purpose.
Diagram is used by permission from Duane Elmer's Cross-Cultural Connections
(Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2002) and under the "fair use" provisions for educational
purposes of copyright laws.
Symptoms of culture shock:
- Unwarranted criticism of the culture and people
- Heightened irritability
- Constant complaining about the climate
- Continually offering excuses for staying indoors
- Utopian ideas concerning one's previous culture
- Continuous concern about the purity of water and food
- Fear of touching local people
- Refusal to learn the language
- Preoccupation about being robbed or cheated
- Pressing desire to talk with people who "really make sense."
- Preoccupation with returning home
Stages most people go through in adjusting to a new culture
- Fun: The excitement and adventure of experiencing new people, things, and
opportunities.
- Flight: Disorientation brings the urge to avoid everything and everyone that is
different.
- Fight: Temptations to judge people and things that are different as bad or
foolish.
- Fit: Creative interaction with the new culture that includes a willingness to
understand and embrace.
"One of the best defenses [against severe culture shock] is knowledge. . . Know what
you are likely to experience" — Diana N., Nazarene Bible College student
Coping strategy for culture shock: Survival techniques
How can we cope with the disorientation of adjusting to a new culture? Having information
about culture shock is a first important step. Attempting to distance ourselves from an
ethnocentric perspective will help. Then, to successfully cope, let's make sure our attitudes mirror
those suggested in green and red in the top half of the diagram. As you work through cultural
socialization, follow these tips on surviving situations where verbal and non-verbal cues and
codes are unfamiliar to you:
- Focus on what you can control.
- When we suffer culture shock, we often feel out of control. So, don't spend energy on things
you cannot change.
- Don't invest major energy in minor problems.
- Don't make "mountains out of molehills" more quickly in cross-cultural situations than
you do in your own culture.
- Tackle major stressors head-on.
- Don't avoid things.
- Ask for help.
- Create a support network as quickly as you can in your target culture. This can
include expatriates like yourself as well as people of the local culture.
- Write it down.
- Record your thoughts and frustrations in a journal. This will give you a healthy outlet for
expressing your feelings.
Knowing how to survive culture shock or stress can be helpful to missionaries as well as
foreign students who come to our country to study.
Help from the Bible
Can Holy Scripture help us with cross-cultural adjustment?
Well, the book of Acts would be a good place to start. It has several examples of cultural
adjustment or socialization. Paul, who grew up in modern-day Turkey and then was educated in
Jerusalem, moved around the Mediterranean planting churches in different cultural contexts. To
the Philippians, he wrote: "I learned to be content whatever the circumstances."
(Philippians 4:11). As Paul coped with various cultural issues, he was also dogged by Jewish
Christians from Israel who tried to force Gentile converts to become Jewish (in which case
Christianity would have been a mono-cultural movement).
Another relevant Biblical event is the story of Ruth. Here's a young woman who left her
home country and culture and moved to Israel and wound up ultimately in the list of Jesus'
ancestors!
Other Bible stories to ponder include:
- Joseph: He wound up being forced as a slave into another country and culture. He kept
his faith and lived in such a wise way that he rose to a position of power. (Genesis 37-50)
- Daniel: Living in Babylon during the exile period, Daniel kept his faith while also being a
person of influence in the Babylonian government.
- Abraham: Abraham had some failures in cross-cultural encounters. Because of fears for
his own safety, he introduced his wife as his sister during a visit to Egypt. (Genesis
12:10-20)
Howard Culbertson,
Reverse culture
shock and how to cope with it at home - AbbeyRoad programs
Reverse culture shock is what people often experience when returning to their home culture
after living in another for a period of time. That can be a long process. A 60-year-old MK
(Missionary Kid) wrote, "My parents
took us to Brazil when I was seven. The work of adjusting back to the States seems never quite
over."
Comparison of Culture Shock and Reverse Culture Shock
Culture shock and reverse culture shock are both phenomena experienced when an individual
is exposed to a different culture or returns to their own culture after an extended period away.
Here are the significant differences between the two:
Culture Shock
- Definition:
- Culture shock refers to the feelings of confusion, anxiety, and disorientation that
individuals experience when they are suddenly exposed to a new and unfamiliar culture.
- Context:
- Occurs when an individual moves to a new country or culture.
- Stages:
- Honeymoon Stage: Initial excitement and fascination with the new culture.
- Frustration Stage: Realization of differences, leading to frustration and
confusion.
- Adjustment Stage: Gradual understanding and adaptation to the new culture.
- Acceptance Stage: Full or partial adaptation, where the individual feels comfortable
and functions well in the new culture.
- Symptoms:
- Homesickness
- Irritability
- Anxiety and stress
- Difficulty in communication due to language barriers
- Confusion about social norms and customs
- Coping Mechanisms:
- Learning the local language and customs
- Seeking support from fellow expatriates or locals
- Maintaining a positive attitude and being open to new experiences
Reverse Culture Shock
- Definition:
- Reverse culture shock, also known as re-entry shock, refers to the feelings of confusion,
frustration, and disorientation that individuals experience when they return to their home country
after living abroad for an extended period.
- Context:
- Occurs when an individual returns to their home country after adapting to a different
culture.
- Stages:
- Disengagement Stage: Anticipation and excitement about returning home.
- Initial Euphoria: Initial joy and relief of being back home.
- Irritability and Hostility: Realization that home culture has changed or feels
different, leading to frustration.
- Readjustment and Adaptation: Gradual readjustment to the home
culture.
- Symptoms:
- Feeling out of place in one's own country
- Frustration with cultural norms and values that were once familiar
- Nostalgia for the culture and lifestyle experienced abroad
- Difficulty in reconnecting with family and friends who have not shared the same
experiences
- Coping Mechanisms:
- Reconnecting with fellow returnees who understand the experience
- Integrating positive aspects of the host culture into daily life at home
- Allowing time for readjustment and being patient with oneself
- Seeking support from friends, family, or professional counselors
Key Differences
- Context: Culture shock occurs when entering a new
culture. Reverse culture shock happens after returning to one's home culture.
- Symptoms: Culture shock involves adapting to new
customs and norms. Reverse culture shock involves readapting to familiar yet altered
customs and norms.
- Emotional Journey: Culture shock often starts with
excitement that turns into frustration. Reverse culture shock can begin with relief that turns into
a sense of alienation.
- Coping Strategies: Both involve seeking support and allowing time for adjustment,
but the focus of support may differ (e.g., learning new customs vs. reintegrating old
ones).
Understanding these differences can help individuals better prepare for and manage their
experiences when transitioning between cultures.
More on reentry shock / reverse culture shock
How do you know you're making progress toward cross-cultural understanding?
|
Moving from ethnocentric monoculturalism to joyfully embracing
multiculturalism is not done with one huge leap. It is a journey of small
steps. |
You might also like these