Challenges triggered by living abroad
Day after day, you have willed this new country to feel like home. In some ways, you are succeeding. Maybe you made a new friend or advanced your communication skills.
But most days, you feel like you’re struggling with just about every aspect of your new life. It turns out that fulfilling your dream doesn’t feel as fulfilling as you thought, but you still try to convince yourself otherwise. With a bit of reluctance, you affirm to yourself, well, this is it! I’m finally living “the life.”
You are not alone if you are struggling in life as an expat. Many expats get caught up in how they expected to feel when no longer dreaming but living their dream. But living abroad is in no way, shape, or form easy for anyone, despite how incredible and liberating an experience it can be.
Loneliness , uprooting, anxiety are some of the predicaments triggered by expat life.
What we didn’t leave behind.
There is a different aspect that can challenge our mental health living abroad. The struggles, problematics and “issues” we had back home. Those we were hoping to leave behind once we moved abroad.
However, they travel with us most of the time, and they usually get stronger and more damaging, being exacerbated by the “normal” challenges I just described.
Counseling with an Expat Psychologist can improve your life abroad.
These 2 points described above lead many expats to seek support from an expat psychologist like me. Of course, every trained and experienced counselor can support you. Still, layers and particular situations can only be understood by someone who knows the problem “from the inside.”
The sooner you open yourself up to acknowledging this truth and honoring your struggles, the sooner you can improve your life abroad and shape it into everything you want it to be.
How Counseling with an Expat Psychologist can support you.
It will help you move forward.
An expat psychologist can help you find awareness of anything that is holding you back. Anything from self-limiting beliefs to unhealthy thought patterns or habits can keep you living a fulfilling life abroad.
Through counseling, you will have a safe, judgment-free space to get to the root of your struggles, work through them, and push past them. A counselor can teach you practical techniques to solidify your confidence and realign with your purpose and goals.
It will help you focus on your mindset.
It’s not your experiences as an expat that make it what it is – it’s your mindset. Are you someone who came into this experience with loads of expectations? Do you feel like you are continuously feeling let down or frustrated?
There’s nothing wrong with having goals or expectations, but it’s important to take a step back at times to be realistic with yourself. An expat psychologist can teach you mindset practices before unmet goals or overly high standards become a source of frustration for you. Because over time, this negativity will shape the way you view your new life and environment. Through counseling, you can learn to rewire your mindset, accept what is happening in your life at the moment and make the most of your struggles.
It will help you actually “live the life.”
Counseling can help expats who have it all together actually feel that way. While every expat experience is different, many face common issues that an expat psychologist can help address.
Whether you are struggling to communicate in your relationships, experiencing self-doubt, anxiety, or stress, or dealing with frustration or anger, expat counseling can help you address all of this.
If you aren’t living the life you thought you would be; it’s okay to seek support. Asking for help is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. As an expat psychologist, I’m here to help you explore your struggles, find new insights, and transition into a more resourceful way of being and living abroad. To create the expat life YOU want, wherever you are, wherever you are heading.
Check out the advantages of Online Counseling for Expat Women with me HERE
Find out the benefits of online sessions HERE
Want to see how I can help you? Read it here!
Ready to your 30-Minute Free Consultation? Book Here!
Still not sure about making the next move? Read the testimonials of my clients living the life abroad they want!
By your side,
Gabriela
Gabriela Encina is an online psychologist specialized in expat women and supports them with the guidance and tools they need to feel confident, make the best decisions for their lives, build and maintain meaningful relationships and prioritize their well-being.
Her approach is practical, solution-oriented and focused on the present.
Gabriela offers counseling to expat women in Spanish, English and German.
