By on February 17th, 2016

Going Home: Dealing with Reverse Culture Shock

When your internship or international study program ends, and it’s time to head back home, you may feel a wide variety of conflicting feelings. Feelings of excitement at seeing your home and family again, sadness at leaving behind the people you’ve met and places you’ve come to love, and anxiety about the future with the new ideas and goals you’ve developed abroad are all common. Once you arrive home, you may go through a kind of culture shock similar to what you experienced when you first came to America, called re-entry, or Reverse Culture Shock.

What is Reverse Culture Shock?

Reverse Culture Shock is defined as a sense of disorientation or disconnection from your native culture after acclimating to an international way of life. When you arrived in America, you likely went through a time of homesickness, feeling isolated, boredom, depression, and restlessness. Once you acclimated to your new home, these feelings slowly disappeared, until you were living in the culture of your new home with only a few minor mistakes. This same process can happen when you return home, especially when your friends and family have tired of your stories of living abroad. Their lives continued on while you were gone, and you may feel as though you missed out on too much to be a part of your old life any longer. If you feel anything like this, you are experiencing Reverse Culture Shock. Luckily, just like with your initial culture shock, it will eventually disappear as you settle back into routine.

Symptoms of Reverse Culture Shock

Reverse Culture Shock usually happens in stages. You may first experience a sense of boredom and restlessness when you realize that the new hobbies and interests you acquired abroad aren’t readily available at home. Then, as your family and friends move on to regular life after welcoming you home, you may begin to feel frustrated and depressed with the way the world seems to turn without you. Feelings of isolation from your old life, or wanting to be alone, are very common. When you were abroad, you had your morals, values, goals, and attitudes tested. You probably came away with some new beliefs that shine a new light on your home and the people around you. This can be a frightening experience that may leave you wondering if you’ll ever be back to normal. Feeling homesick for your international home, host family, and friends, is also normal.

Coping with Reverse Culture Shock

Coping with Reverse Culture Shock is very similar to coping with the culture shock you went through when you first went abroad. Give yourself some time to become re-acclimated to the weather, food, and daily routines of life around you. Try to get involved with organizations for students who previously went abroad. Share your experiences through a blog, or by writing for a local newspaper or offering to speak to local high school seniors. Don’t try to go back to your “old life”. Just as you clung to certain foods or habits from home when you left, it’s okay to continue eating or living how you did while abroad. If you were involved with an internship, your company may offer training programs for you and your family to help re-orient you to life at home.

Eventually, Reverse Culture Shock will fade, and you’ll be able to reap the benefits of your amazing experience abroad. Keeping in touch with your host family and friends, and looking for other opportunities to travel, will help you feel less isolated. Now that you’ve returned from your study or internship program, it’s time to focus on your personal and business goals.