The psychology behind emigration

Emigrating has become an increasingly common action Due to the ease of traveling today and the fact that communication channels are increasingly advanced, facilitating information. However, emigrating is not a decision to be taken lightly for several compelling reasons.

Unfortunately, there are misconceptions about emigration that have promoted the normalization of this action. Little echo has been made of emotional and psychological risks that can lead to a bad or sudden emigration decision.

But how can emigration affect us psychologically and emotionally if we are looking for a better life?

• Related article: "3 important aspects to adapt to a new country"

The psychological impact of emigrating

Simply by the false expectations that the normalization of emigration causes, the lack of information can affect us to the point of triggering depression, anxiety and adaptation problems, where the stress of the simple fact of emigrating is the protagonist. The purpose of this article is to raise awareness about the psychological risks of emigrating whether we want to or not.

Our mind, no matter how strong it may be, is going to run into murky waters in the face of a change as big as emigrating to another country. Of course, there are different types of emigration and not all go through the same circumstances, but the depression, anxiety and other stressors can affect us more than we think if they catch us unprepared.

What can be the psychological risks?

When emigrating, many changes are involved in the life of any personWhether it's going to study for a few months or being determined to seek better opportunities abroad for an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately, emigrating is not synonymous with a better quality of life as many believe, since you have to go through periods of previous adaptation to be able to recover part of the lifestyle that one had, and not only the monetary one as many believe. Emigrate it also involves other types of losses, and like all loss sooner or later a grieving process.

The life of every individual is made up of multiple areas that make up their full development and that therefore are very likely to be affected when emigrating: (Ziglar, 7 areas of life):

• Career and work
• Social: friends and surroundings
• Family: support and healthy interpersonal relationships (as above)
• Economic: independence and stability
• Physical Health
• Mental health
• Spirituality

Grief and emigration stress

As mentioned above, when you emigrate you will suffer grieving processes due to the change. Every change creates stress, and all of this can affect our emotional world, thus triggering possible psychopathologies (Lavieri, 2015).

Cultural change, nostalgia, loneliness, lack of social identification, anxiety and acute stress can also affect the immune system. Many immigrants do not seem to suffer any kind of disturbance or anxiety during the first months after moving, either because they only went to study for a short period of time, the excitement of being in a new environment or because they have family and friends in the new country who help them to adapt a little more Quick.

However, eventually social and cultural factors will affect the cognitive maps creating the famous cultural clashes, differences in the way of working and even studying.

For example, education systems vary from country to country., just as work styles can vary as well (ex. new technologies).

Considerations when emigrating

To avoid the potential adverse psychological effects of emigration as much as possible, it may be helpful to follow these guidelines:

• Draw a map of objectives and goals in the short, medium and long term.
• Handle false expectations of immediate successes (ex. The American dream).
• Avoid suddenly emigrating if you suffer from any Psychological trastorn or if one is suspected. If the person suffers from depressive episodes, migrating without precautions can be very risky for their mental health.
• Understand that self-esteem and identity can be greatly affected. The lifestyle will undergo changes.
• Investigate the culture, social situation, climate and language of the country to which you want to emigrate. Leave prepared to suffer any type of discrimination and rejection. Whether we like it or not, it is a reality to which any immigrant is exposed, regardless of social class, race, age or sex.
• Prepare papers, preferably avoid leaving undocumented. Going under illegalities will increase the stress and the risk of having legal problems, such as being deported, not being able to open bank accounts or simply not being able to be treated in hospitals. (Making way to fall into jobs where there is abuse and labor exploitation).
• Understand that this step it will affect career and job identity. You are unlikely to get a job in your area right away, unless you are leaving with a job offer and yet there are Risks to consider: importance of the position, contract, trial period, training and time granted by the company to accommodate.
• Understand that there are going to be emotional and work ups and downs. This also applies to those who migrate with children.
• Take advantage of support networks. Do you have close acquaintances in the country?
• Understand that professional help and family support should be sought if symptoms of depression or depression are suspected anxiety that makes you want to isolate yourself, lose your way, and affect your performance in school or school. job.

And the relatives of those who are leaving?

For the families of migrants, it may be useful for the person who is leaving to follow these guidelines:

• Avoid at all costs comparative comments with the immediate successes of acquaintances who emigrated.
• Offer support and remind them of the benefits of the decision, encourage them to achieve the proposed goal. And always remind them where their home is if they decide to return.
• Avoid judging if you decide to return. Family support is essential in the face of these radical and risky changes for mental health.

Conclution

Emigrating is not an easy decision, and like any decision requires a lot of maturity so that the change is as bearable as possible. It is necessary to understand the risks of emigration and the false expectations that are generated by seeing as something popular to go to another country.

If the proper measures and precautions are taken, emigrating can be less risky and even take us where we want to go with the best tools, making the most of new experiences.

Bibliographic references:

• Lavieri, E. (2015). Most frequent psychiatric disorders in immigrants: Anxiety, Mood Disorders and Addictions. Available in http://ecoterapias.com.es

• Ziglar, T. (2016). The Wheel of Life. Available in https://www.ziglar.com/articles/the-wheel-of-life/