How can expat counselling be helpful if you experience reverse culture shock?
After living in Thailand for 5 years, Maya was both excited and apprehensive about
moving back to her hometown of Seattle. She had grown accustomed to the laidback
pace, warm hospitality, and vibrant chaos of Bangkok. Stepping off the plane into the
hushed, orderly airport of her youth, she was struck by an overwhelming sense of
sterility and distance.
In Thailand, she had been enveloped in a collectivist culture where community and
social bonds were prioritized. But now, she felt invisible and anonymous among the
sea of strangers at baggage claim, each person enclosed in their own personal
bubble. The polite but reserved demeanors felt stark after years of being greeted
with warm smiles and traditional wai gestures.
Maya’s senses were also jarred – the lack of pungent street food aromas, the sudden
absence of impromptu street vendors, and the quiet hum replacing the riotous
organized chaos she had grown so accustomed to. She felt like she was viewing her
hometown through a distorted lens after her drastically different lived experiences
abroad.
As the weeks passed, Maya’s feelings of alienation and disconnect from her
supposed home persisted. She missed the vibrancy, spontaneity and genuine
warmth she had grown so fond of. Adjusting to the cultural realities she once took for
granted was unexpectedly difficult after being immersed in another way of life for so
long.
The transition back to the familiar streets and surroundings of her hometown should
be an exciting homecoming for Maya. But after becoming deeply intertwined with the
vibrant embrace of Thailand’s culture for five transformative years, the very familiarity
that Seattle represents now feels jarring and uncomfortable to her. She has been
forever changed by her adventures abroad, and it’s only natural for her to feel like
pieces of herself no longer quite fit into her old life.
The sterile orderliness of the airport, the polite distance of strangers passing by, the
painfully mundane tasks of everyday routines – these seemingly insignificant
moments now feel laden with absence and loss for Maya. The sights, sounds, smells
and social warmth that had become beautiful constants in Bangkok are suddenly
missing, leaving an aching void within her. The alienation and sadness she is
experiencing is profound. She has walked a thousand miles only to find her footsteps
don’t quite match the old paths.
During such an intensely disorienting time, having a caring professional to validate
her turbulent emotions can be deeply reassuring for Maya. An expat counsellor
understands she isn’t struggling to readjust due to mere shakiness – she is grieving
the loss of the treasures she collected abroad while acclimating to living in two
worlds simultaneously.
With empathy and non-judgement, a counsellor can help honour both Maya’s
incredible journey and the tangled, bittersweet emotions of her repatriation. They can
provide a safe harbour for her to process the complexity of loving two homes. She
can explore ways to rebuild routines while staying tethered to the invaluable pieces
of Thai culture she has woven into her identity.
This re-entry process deeply tests one’s sense of identity and belonging. But Maya
doesn’t have to feel so unmoored along the way. An expat counsellor can nurture
self-compassion and inject gentle wisdom into her courage, as she bravely navigates
her way home to herself again.