Stages of Cultural Adjustment

## **WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT: CULTURE SHOCK & THE STAGES OF CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT**

Moving to a new country is an exciting experience. New surroundings, new languages, new foods, new customs and etiquette, new transportation and social systems. It’s a very thrilling time—and quite overwhelming. In fact, after a few weeks, many people begin to notice something different. They may have twinges of homesickness or even feel depressed. It’s called ‘culture shock. The good news is that it is temporary—it’s one of 4 phases of cultural adjustment—and you aren’t alone! In a recent survey by the Rygaards IPC, over 80% of Rygaards families reported feeling some degree of culture shock. The first step for dealing with culture shock is understanding what it is and where you are at in the 4 Stages of Cultural Adjustment.

## **Four Stages of Cultural Adjustment**1

Adjusting is an ongoing process and everyone has their own pace. It's tough at the beginning, but you'll get through it! And when you do, perhaps you'll become like some of our parents who started off feeling like they were in a strange land and now love Denmark and can't imagine living anywhere else.

However, it's always dark before the dawn--and culture shock can be part of that. The chart below shows a typical journey of adjustment for an expatriate--where are you at?

### **STAGE 1**: “*The Honeymoon*”—Initial Euphoria/Excitement

* Excitement with new sounds, sights, smells.
* Superficial involvement in the host culture (like a tourist).
* Intrigue with both similarities and differences between the new culture and your home culture.
* Lots of interest in learning, very motivated and cooperative.
* You feel as if you will be able to handle anything—“I am not going to have any problems adjusting!”

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### **STAGE 2**: “*Culture Shock*”—Irritation/Hostility

* The novelty of the new culture has worn off, and you now focus primarily on the differences between the new culture and your home culture.
* Small differences feel like major catastrophes. You become overly concerned with and stressed out by problems and feel helpless and frustrated (you can’t find what you are looking for at the supermarket; you can’t understand the announcements over the loudspeaker at the train station; you feel like people are staring at you when you are in shops; you can’t figure out the recycling and garbage schedule, etc.).
* Stereotypes and prejudices surface: you feel as if the host nationals are cold, unhelpful, snobbish.
* You reach out to friends at home more often.
* You are homesick. You miss your friends and family at home—and to make matters worse, you hear that the weather there is not overcast and wet.

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### **STAGE 3**: *"Recovery"*—Gradual Adjustment, Humor, and Perspective

* You are becoming more familiar with the new culture and its “logic” and values. Cultural cues become easier to read.
* You feel more comfortable and less isolated, and you even begin to prefer some aspects of the new culture to your home culture.
* You feel like “As long as I am here, I should make the most of it.”
* You experience periodic personal highs and lows, as adjustment gradually takes place.
* Your sense of humor returns. You are able to laugh at certain ways of doing things that previously just annoyed you and even to laugh at yourself from time to time.
* Since you are past the initial, emotional stages of cultural adjustment, you can now enter a stage of “deeper learning.” You begin to see a multitude of approaches to your life abroad and to question some of your assumptions about the world. This can be both exciting and unnerving.

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### **STAGE 4**: *“Feeling at Home”*—Adaptation and Biculturalism

* The “new” culture is no longer new; instead, the “foreign” country you live in now feels like another home.
* The aspects of the culture that are different from what you've known no longer affect you in a negative way. You are able to live and work to your full potential.
* Just like you do in your home country, you appreciate certain aspects of the culture and are critical of others.

Studies show that culture shock and its symptoms can occur and recede throughout your time abroad and it can have a dramatic impact on the happiness of yourself—and your family. So we at the Rygaards IPC want to do everything we can to prepare you for it and give you the tools to get through it. With that goal in mind, we go into further depth about culture shock, how to cope and where to turn for help if you need it.

## **What is Culture Shock**

Culture shock is one of the most widely discussed and often misunderstood aspects of any international experience. Technically speaking, culture shock is the confusion, disorientation and emotional upheaval that comes from immersion in a new culture. For example, you may be tired of using frustrating and confusing public transportation that doesn’t seem to work well. Maybe you’re exhausted from making yourself understood all the time and just want to speak with someone like you. Even just standing out, looking foreign, bothers many people abroad. These minor problems balloon into massive problems. You feel like an outsider and may even be depressed. You are experiencing culture shock.2

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**“I actually haven’t experienced it.”**

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You may have heard some people say that they don’t experience culture shock. Well, odds are, they did, but perhaps didn’t recognize it as such, or they’re too embarrassed to share their stories. Worse still, they might not have immersed themselves in the local culture, and so were never exposed to it to the point where they had to confront their discomfort in the first place. That would be sad, and we certainly don’t recommend that you take that approach. Culture shock is a learning experience and leads to broader perspectives, more tolerance, and a greater appreciation for your new culture and your home culture. It’s important that you prepare for culture shock and learn how to deal with it. Doing so is one of the best ways to experience the deep personal growth of life abroad, as so many others have. 2

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### **Symptoms of Culture Shock**

Symptoms of culture shock range from physical to emotional. They may include:

* Headaches
* Difficulty sleeping or insomnia

* Loss of appetite

* Irritability and anger over minor frustrations

* Homesickness
* A feeling of sadness, loneliness, and vulnerability

* Idealization of home culture

* Feeling shy or insecure

* Feeling lost or confused

* Questioning your decision to move to the host country

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### **Strategies for Coping with Cultural Stress**

#### *Personal Supports: Ways of Thinking and Feeling*

* Understand the stages of cultural adjustment.
* Analyze your situations and reactions; be flexible; tolerate ambiguity; expect things to be different.
* Be patient; don’t try to understand everything immediately; identify what helps you manage stress.
* Identify ways of thinking positively; foster your sense of humor; don’t take things too seriously; give yourself permission to fail.
* Learn as much as you can about your host culture.
* Keep a journal. Record your impressions of new experiences and the transformations that are occurring within you.

#### *Social Supports*

* Plan in advance how you will keep in contact with family and friends at home.

* Do not isolate yourself.

* Find a local person with whom you can discuss your frustrations and encounters.

* Maintain a support structure with others, particularly those going through the same experience. However, do not retreat into a clique" to avoid the discomfort of culture shock.

* Seek out friends and groups that share your interests and can facilitate your participation in social circles.

#### *Physical Supports*

* Eat in a healthy way and get plenty of rest.
* Identify any problems (e.g. excessive consumption of alcohol, binge eating) and make plans to manage them.
* Find safe and fun ways to exercise on a regular basis.

## **When do I need to seek professional help?**

When you find that you are experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned above to an extreme degree, consider that the symptoms may be culture shock. For example, you have cried constantly for several days, you are unable to concentrate, or you experience physical ailments. Recognizing the symptoms for what they are, that is, signs of culture shock, is the first step to adjusting.

In some cases, culture shock can resemble or trigger depression. Independent of cultural adjustment, depression is a complex condition that can strike for a number of reasons and can differ in severity depending on many factors that are sometimes out of our control. If you fear you are on the verge of or already in this state, don’t try to get through it alone. Talk to your friends and seek professional counseling. Don’t isolate yourself.

## **Professional Counseling & Therapy**

Options for counseling and treatment of stress, anxiety or depression

**CARING MINDS**

Offers Therapy & Counseling in English for Expats & Students

Lottenborgvej 24

2800 Kgs. Lyngby

T: (+45) 27 12 53 93

E: kontakt@caringminds.dk

**CEKTOS**

English-speaking psychologist in Copenhagen and Hellerup

Gersonsvej 33

2900 Hellerup

T: (+45)  55 73 48 49

E-mail:
Info@cektos.dk

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Amagerbrogade 114, 1 sal

2300 København S

Tlf.: 55 73 48 49

E-mail: Info@cektos.dk

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*Phone Hours*

Monday-Thursday: 09:00 - 12:00

Friday: 10:00 - 11:0

1Originally conceptualized by anthropologist Kalervo Oberg in a talk to the Women’s Club of Rio de Janeiro in 1954. 2 https://stacieberdan.com/understanding-and-dealing-with-culture-shock/