The difference between expat mental health conditions vs difficult emotions
Emotions are universal to everyone. There are different theories, but almost every emotion can be spotted or can be identified in facial expressions and body measures. From sweating to increased heart rate. Difficult or challenging emotions are for all of the people...
How Expats Can Manage Conflicts Better
Experiencing conflicts in family and friends as an expat? Moving abroad is one of the biggest steps you will ever take in your life. Building a life abroad in a new country is equal parts exhilarating and scary. Exhilarating because you’re going on an adventure and...
Overcoming Culture Shock in Expat Life
Culture shock is a natural psychological response to the stress of adapting to a new culture. It’s that feeling of being out of place, confused, and overwhelmed when one arrives in a new environment. It can occur when a person travels or moves to a foreign...
Attachment Styles on Expat Couples
Expat relationships are fun, exciting, and a new kind of adventure. But like all relationships, they come with their own set of challenges. There are, of course, language and cultural barriers, which can affect expat couples. Two people coming from vastly different...
Expats and Their Concept of Home
Where is home? What is home? How do you define it? These are all questions that many of us ask at some point in our lives. Are you an expat finding home? Where is home for you? For many people, their concept of home is tied to a specific place – their...
ACT and Living Expat Life to the Fullest
An effective way for expats to learn how to live life to the fullest is through acceptance and commitment therapy principles. It’s easy for anyone to feel lost and alone in this big, sometimes scary world. For expats, a new foreign country can feel like a world...
Overcome Procrastination in Expat Life through ACT
Procrastination is the act of delaying or postponing something that needs to be done, and it’s accompanied by feelings of guilt, anxiety, and stress. Procrastination can harm expatriates because it can interfere with their work, relationships, and overall...
How Expats Can “ACT” on Their Happiness
The expatriate experience is challenging. From living in a new country, adapting to different customs and cultures, to dealing with homesickness, it can be overwhelming for expats to face the challenges of living abroad. Expats who struggle can learn how to accept...
Coping with Living Far Away from Aging Parents
Living far away from aging parents and family is never an easy process. Still, it’s one that many people must face at some point in their lives. For some, the day they leave home may come rather suddenly. And for others who have already left, it can be the...
Letting Go is Essential for Expat Life
One of the most necessary things you will ever do as an expat living abroad is letting go when you need to. Whether people, places, or things, the ability to let go can determine the extent to which you can embrace your new life with open arms. When you move abroad,...
Expat Funk vs. Expat Depression
Expat funk is a relatively new concept for me. It is a particular English language expression, and I suspect colleagues use it to make it more relatable to a broader audience. In psychology, we call it adaptive mood reaction, reactive sadness or fatigue—even...
How Cognitive Distortions Affect Our Life Abroad
Cognitive distortions are habitual ways of thinking that cause us to view reality in negative ways. These inaccurate thought patterns dictate the way we interpret events in our daily life. Though people often develop cognitive distortions from prolonged and severely...
How Counseling with an Expat Psychologist will Support You
At the time you moved abroad, you may have been fulfilling your biggest dream. You may have planned everything you possibly could have to prepare for this significant transition. Still, you came to find that no amount of planning could have ever prepared you for how...
What Expats Say When They Don’t Communicate
Humans communicate from the moment they perceive each other. It is impossible not to, even if no words are verbally spoken or exchanged. Interested to know what expats say even not saying anything? Keep reading. According to Paul Watzlawick, an Austrian psychologist...Subscribe to my YouTube Channel
