How to Cope with Culture Shock

In my own opinion, culture shock refers to the symptoms produced when a person is subjected to a dissimilar environment. Traveling to a foreign country is an extreme example of a time and place where one might experience these symptoms; but they can occur from slight changes too. For example, starting a new job, traveling to a neighboring state or town within the state you live. I personally remember feeling these emotions when I left for college.

The culture shock may be one challenge in the beginning, but it will be overcome. The locals may do something unusual that we may not do, but it might be nothing out of the ordinary for them. One way that the culture shock can be avoided or

A sudden change in one’s surroundings can result in culture shock. Culture shock refers to the anxiety and surprise a person feels when he or she is discontented with an unfamiliar setting. The majority of practices or customs are different from what a person is used to. One may experience withdrawal, homesickness, or a desire for old friends. For example, when a person goes to live in a different place with unfamiliar surroundings, they may experience culture shock. Sometimes it is the result of losing their identity. In the article “The Phases of Culture Shock”, Pamela J. Brink and Judith Saunders describe four phases of culture shock. They are: Honeymoon Phase, Disenchantment Phase, Beginning Resolution Phase, and Effective

Cultural shock is a common feeling a person experiences when transitioning into a completely different environment and living situation. Throughout the world, immigrants experience many difficulties when assimilating into a new culture.

Employers are increasingly searching for multilinguals in order to widen their client pool. Someone who is able to communicate through multiple languages immediately have an advantage over someone who cannot by simply having the ability to communicate with more people. As a result of

What Peter Berger means by the first statement, in which he links sociological discovery to culture shock minus geographical displacement, is that sociological discoveries and realizations are very often made in one 's own society. When they are made, they might come off as shocking because they are being viewed in a different light. You can go to the nearest church or park and make new discoveries with what you observe in an open state of mind.

Culture shock is the feelings of alienation, hostility, heightened ethnocentrism, sense of loss, depression and/or self doubt that may result from immersion in a new culture.

Pederson (7) explains that there are stages of culture shock, which he identifies as the honeymoon, negotiation, adjustment, and adaptation. In the honeymoon phase, a person is likely to get excited about being in a new place, meeting new people, tasting new foods, and acquiring new habits. However, as time passes by, they get into a phase of negotiation, where the differences between the culture one is used to and the one they find themselves in start to become apparent. Feelings of anxiety, anger, and frustrations start to take shape as unfavorable events perceived as strange come in the way of the person 's life, especially if a person does not feel accepted in the new culture (Mukherjee 273). Loneliness may set in, and the urge to go back to the familiar culture strongly comes into play. However, as time goes by, adjustment sets in, usually within six to twelve months, and one gets accustomed to the culture and also comes up with a routine. By this phase, one knows what is expected of them, and life once again becomes ‘normal.’

It is a sacrifice to move to a foreign country and have to change the principles and traditions that have been instilled in an individual since birth. For this reason, in order to adjust to a new culture immigrants not only have to be disposed to discard their original values to adapt to their new nation, but they have to deal with certain barrier in order to assimilate to their new lifestyle. Whether an immigrant is considered first or second generation, the obstacle of learning a new language or struggling with finding balance between the two distinct cultural worlds still remain a challenge.

In this world, there are many different countries speaking their own individual languages. People can identify from each other’s language of who they are and where they are from. The language I speak shows my identity, culture and this is who I am and where I originally come from. However, my culture can be lost when immigrating to the most diverse cultural country which is the United States. The reason is because I obligated to learn a new language to adapt into the new society.

The difficulty of moving to a new culture is that a lot of people would feel fear because they are so use to their own culture, so now they leave what they are used to a new way and it will be hard for them to adapt. Some may like the new food and the pace of life, then later on in the month’s people may feel like the new life and culture is unpleasant life for instance: public hygiene, the language barriers, traffic safety, and food accessibility. Still the most part in relocating to a different culture is the communication because they might not understand the language or might say the wrong word thinking it means the same in the other countries. People adjusting to a new culture often feel lonely and homesick because they are not yet

Finally, it is important to have a positive attitude throughout these new experiences. for one,iIt will not always be easy to get used to a new culture but it helps to be aware of that and to maintain a positive attitude regardless. According to kende,” thank u Canada we love you “(135).this shows that people have positive attitude towards to a new adopting country. People should not be afraid to make mistakes but instead learn from them. Individuals can take this as an opportunity to grow and learn as a person while at the same time remembering that there is not only one way to do something, just that this might be how it is done in

Cultural shock is a natural phase that most refugees will go through at some point after arrival which involves feeling disoriented with the new environment and having socially difficulty which can cause various forms of depression. Some ways to cope with cultural shock:

Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from their own. It is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration or a visit to a new country, a move between social environments, or simply transition to another way of life. One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign environment. Culture shock can be described as having 4 different phases. The first one is the honeymoon stage. The second is the negotiation stage. Third is the adjustment stage and last is the adaptation stage. Common problems with culture shock include information overload, language barrier, generational gap, technology gap, skill interdependence, formulation dependency, homesickness, infinite regress, boredom, response ability. There are 3 different outcomes to culture shock and there really is no true way to entirely prevent culture shock, as individuals in any society are personally affected by cultural contrasts differently.

Wilson(2009, p.4) says ‘Culture shock is a state of disorientation that can come over anyone who has been thrust into unknown surroundings, away from one’s comfort zone.’ This term was first introduced by the anthropologist Oberg (1960) to describe the signs of anxiety that occur when people bump into a new culture that presents similar symbols or behaviors.