THE WANDERLUSTERS MIND PODCAST
What is Reverse Culture Shock?
What you can expect and the different phases when your transitioning through Reverse Culture Shock. What is Reverse Culture Shock? Is a upsetting and disturbing feelings and emotions experienced by some people upon returning home from spending a significant time overseas.
What you can expect and the different phases when your transitioning through Reverse Culture Shock.
What is Reverse Culture Shock?
Is a upsetting and disturbing feelings and emotions experienced by some people upon returning home from spending a significant time overseas.
Signs that you could be experiencing reverse culture shock.
- You have changed and notice that you don’t relate as well to old friends and those around you.
- You feel alone as if there is no one who understands
- You feel bored
- You're living in your past travels and experience far too often
- You compare your current situation to your past experience overseas
- You only think about the good things of your travels or time abroad
Different phases of this transition.
- Realisation of the return home
- Initial excitement for landing back in your motherland
- Denial of your return home
- Unhappiness, Misery, Gloom, Melancholy and sometimes depression
- Frustraion about your position
- Adjusting adapting and experimenting
- Owning your decision to return home
- Integration, finding purpose and meaning
Links
Aimee Wilson - Trusting herself and following her passion of working with horses.
Aimee is a Life Coach, Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator, Speaker, Sacred Space holder and super passionate about the power of working with horses.
Aimee took off to work at a Summer Camp in the United States. She then travelled to London and returned to the States for another summer. Upon returning home she found her partner, her passion and started a new life.
Aimee is now an Intuition & Embodiment Coach who encourages women to listen to their inner voice, unblock their fears, and pursue the things that are calling to them from deep within.
1.5 years abroad working at summer camp in the U.S. and in London, coming home and following her true desires.
About Aimee
Aimee is a Life Coach, Equine Assisted Learning Facilitator, Speaker, Sacred Space holder and super passionate about the power of working with horses.
Aimee took off to work at a Summer Camp in the United States. She then travelled to London and returned to the States for another summer. Upon returning home she found her partner, her passion and started a new life.
Aimee is now an Intuition & Embodiment Coach who encourages women to listen to their inner voice, unblock their fears, and pursue the things that are calling to them from deep within.
“I started with what I knew.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Aimee faced - Unsure if she should continue travelling. Felt like the time to go home. Strange, like she had not been away. Things were the same. It felt good to be home but also felt mundane. Aimee felt lost.
- What had changed - Nothing had changed! Had a better sense of self. Tried to recreate the travelling vibe by moving to the snow.
- Biggest stress - No clear career path, no money or savings.
- How Aimee supported herself - Starting with what she knew and went back to hospitality work.
- How did her mindset change - Positive mindset and being able to rely on herself.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- Trust yourself
- I had inner strength that I could use and rely on.
- I was capable
- Advise to herself for returning home - Not much as there is so much learning on the journey. It will all be ok. Trust your passions and what lights you up, dont just do whats expected.
“I came home with a much more positive mindset because you have to rely on yourself to figure stuff out.”
“You find people more like you, which gives you more confidence.”
Jo Parker - Shaping her life during 12 months in Denmark.
Finding freedom and purpose in her life at sixteen years old whilst on Rotary exchange.
About Jo
Johanna Parker is a heart-centred life, confidence and public speaking coach, international speaker and MC, life coach trainer, authenticity-advocate, travel junkie and founder of her personal empowerment business, Heart Sparks.
Hailed by Women’s Fitness Magazine as a ‘positivity expert’, over the past ten years she has empowered thousands of young people and adults across not-for-profit, local government, education and community settings to become more connected to themselves, to confidently embrace their uniqueness, to bravely honour their voice and to build incredible, purposeful lives all over the world.
She is an avid traveller who caught the travel bug at a very young age and successfully built an location-independent business that nurtures her love of wandering while still allowing her to call Australia home.
“I just kept showing up and really threw myself into learning the language and connect with people.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Jo faced - Resisted thinking about returning home. Looming expiry date of trip. Jo felt displaced, alone, misunderstood, sad and confused for 9-12 months after returning home.
- What had changed - Felt like the world had stopped. Everything had changed but Jo felt grateful for the experience.
- How Jo supported herself - Aligned with anything that connected with who she really was. Maintaining relationships in Denmark, talking to those who were excited about her travels. When she was feeling sad, she gave herself space to process the feelings.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- Reverse culture shock is a real thing, its a natural part of travel so take the pressure off.
- Home is on the inside, home is wherever you are.
- The relationship that you have with yourself is paramount.
- Advise to herself for returning home - Everything will be ok, you can always choose to do something different and you have the power and the control to change things.
Jos tips for dealing with Reverse Culture shock.
- Recognise what it looks like feels like sounds like.
- Take the pressure off.
- Find people who you relate too.
- Be willing to speak up if you are struggling.
- Follow 'sparks' of what feels interesting.
- Know that if you return to where you travel.
“Denmark taught me that I wanted to work with people and that I loved working with and meeting new people.”
“I make space for adventure...in whatever form that looks like.”
Cover and above photos: Eyes of Love Photography
Annie Soulsby - Seeing Tanzania grow.
Annie Soul is a life coaching specialising in travel. She blogs about her expertise at www.soulfultravels.co.uk. She has spent over seven years as an expat in Tanzania. Annie moved to Tanzania in 2010 after six months of teaching scientific fieldwork skills to volunteers on a bush camp with no running water or electricity the previous year. She went with the ambition of starting her own NGO and spent every single effort trying to make that happen. She made some really lovely lifelong friends and had awesome adventures, but needed a change and decided to leave in 2016.
Leaving the UK for 7 years in Tanzania and returning home again.
About Annie
Annie Soul is a life coaching specialising in travel. She blogs about her expertise at www.soulfultravels.co.uk. She has spent over seven years as an expat in Tanzania.
Annie moved to Tanzania in 2010 after six months of teaching scientific fieldwork skills to volunteers on a bush camp with no running water or electricity the previous year. She went with the ambition of starting her own NGO and spent every single effort trying to make that happen.
In the end the political situation changed dramatically and the experience was not the same as when she had arrived. She made some really lovely lifelong friends and had awesome adventures, but needed a change and decided to leave in 2016.
“You have to take some time to nurture your own feelings to ensure your strong enough to continue”
When coming home...
- Emotions Annie faced - Upset to leave new friends in Tanzania behind, excited to return home, security, relax and not worry about basic needs.
- Biggest stress - No one understands the change you have been going through.
- How Annie supported herself - Concentrate on herself, take time to do things for yourself.
- How did her mindset change - Self action, open communications, being selfish and investing time in herself
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock
- "Dont panic." (Douglas Adams - Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy)
- Dont always listen to people when they say negative things about travel.
- Research, Research, Research!
- Advise to herself for returning home - Enjoy everything that you can. You know your strengths.
Links
Website: www.soulfultravels.co.uk
Annies Instagram: @soulfultravelsuk
Facebook: Soulful travels
Twitter @soulfultravels
Kate Cashman - Following her soul calling after 9 months in Africa.
Kate is a rest and renewal coach, events creator, writer and speaker at The Breath Between. She helps busy professionals and entrepreneurs become leaders of their personal lives and find time, space and strategies to feel truly relaxed, renewed and ready to show up in their lives feeling energised and rejuvenated. She is also a lecturer in law, a mum to two small kids, a passionate traveler and lives in the green island of Tasmania.
Deciding to leave a corporate job as a lawyer and stepping into a PHD and Life Coaching business.
About Kate
Kate is a rest and renewal coach, events creator, writer and speaker at The Breath Between. She helps busy professionals and entrepreneurs become leaders of their personal lives and find time, space and strategies to feel truly relaxed, renewed and ready to show up in their lives feeling energised and rejuvenated.
She is also a lecturer in law, a mum to two small kids, a passionate traveler and lives in the green island of Tasmania.
“Travel teaches you to be courageous in times were you might not otherwise.”
When coming home...
- Emotions Kate faced - Anxiety, down, disconnect.
- What had changed - Her perception on the world.
- Biggest stress - Had no money and no car to get around, gut feeling screaming at her to change career paths.
- How Kate supported herself - became introspective, spent time on her own, meditation, yoga and then getting out and about.
- 3 Lessons learned from travel and reverse culture shock.
- Flexibility.
- Open your heart to people
- We are so lucky to live where we do, we must be thankful for that.
- Advise to herself for returning home - Be ready to be a changed person, plan to have time for yourself and plan to have some things to do.
“Our hearts where burst wide open from the people we met.”
Hi, Im Abby...
About me...
Hi I'm Abby, Adventurer, Life coach, Speaker and Blogger.
After a successful sporting career I now love sharing what I have learned from my adventures and traveling the world.
I believe in turning into your adventurous life through your intuition and the little nudges from the universe.
Lets share the adventure. xo
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