Dealing with Anxiety in a New Country
Personally, I always get anxious when big changes occur, honestly even when little changes occur. This anxiety arises over how these changes affect me or how things are now different and not going as I wanted them to. One thing that has always been constant for me is anxiety at the start and end of every semester. Moving in or moving back home is always a complete upheaval of my usual routine and throws me off balance. So, you can only imagine how it feels to begin a new semester…in a new country that I am completely unfamiliar with. I’m sure this is something a lot of other people can relate to, which is why I feel like it is worth talking about.
How do we get that gut feeling of fear and worry and anxiety out of our minds while on our own in a new place? How do we learn to embrace the things that scare us?
My mind best functions when I am in a routine and I usually know what to expect in my day to day life. Therefore, whenever I begin a new chapter of my life, it takes a while for me to adjust and while I am busy adjusting, I deal with a lot of anxiety with all the newness. I’m definitely not an expert, but I think the main thing I have learned to do through all the change I’ve dealt with in my life and especially during my time abroad so far is to learn to LET GO. In other words: go with the flow, be flexible, embrace change and accept the uncertainty. Personally, my anxiety is often rooted in things not going according to my plan or having to deal with unexpected hurdles. I’ve learned that spending time worrying about things I cannot control is not only a waste of my time, but it is also pointless! You missed your train? The only solution is to move forward and buy another ticket. Unfamiliar with the campus of your new school? Show up early and hope you find your class…if you’re late then at least that means you eventually found the classroom. Struggling with the language barrier that leads to awkward encounters with locals? Use it as an opportunity to practice learning the language.
I have begun to stop worrying about hypotheticals and small slip ups and instead recognize the incredibly small impact this plays on my life in the grand scheme of things. Being away from friends and family can often amplify this fear and worry, but I am trying to teach myself to thrive in the ability to become more self-reliant. As a result of distance and time differences, I haven’t been able to just pick up the phone and call a friend when I don’t know how to handle a situation. Instead I have tried to rely on myself and create new habits that will help me become a better version of myself. For me, there is preventative self-care and there is on-the-spot self-care. Preventative self-care essentially focuses on how I work towards becoming less anxious and letting go of the small things. This means things like positive affirmations every morning and reminding myself that even though not everything goes according to plan, everything will work out in the end. It is mostly a matter of teaching your brain to think more positively and embrace the change. One phrase I often repeat to myself is “Embrace the uncertainty.” Life, and especially life abroad is better lived when you just pursue the things that you are faced with and make the most of them. I also try to remind myself that if something does not scare me, then it means I am not challenging myself enough. Since my anxiety is often rooted in my fear of things I cannot control, I focus on the fact that the change I cannot control has the capability of creating some of the best things in my life. By constantly filling my head with all of these thoughts, I begin to rewire the way I respond to anxiety. On-the-spot self-care is all about calming myself down whenever I feel most anxious. This can mean putting on a podcast to distract myself for a little, listening to a meditation practice on my phone or even just sitting down and writing out all my feelings. I personally love the podcast Don’t Blame Me, an advice podcast hosted by Youtuber Meghan Rienks, which basically means you can get some advice while simultaneously calming yourself down. By focusing on the things I can do on my own, I am learning to handle my anxiety without the support system that I am so used to at school.
These practices might not work for everyone, but they could be worth a try. Regardless, it is always comforting for me when I see that there are other people out there struggling with these same issues. Studying abroad is an amazing opportunity, but that does not mean there are not adjustments and initial hesitations about the experience. Remembering that we all go through our own process of adjusting to life abroad is always comforting.
It is all a work in progress, but these are the steps I have been taking so far to adjust to my life abroad. This means adjusting to the new change as well as improving the ways that I handle the anxiety that comes along with those changes. It seems hard at first but is a worthwhile lesson to be able to grow more independent and comfortable dealing with my anxieties. Maybe by the end of my time abroad, this will be just one of the many skills I have mastered in my process of becoming more independent. I hope this post reminds you that it is okay to do some check-ins with yourself while abroad and make sure you prioritize your mental health!
