Culture shock. It isn't a term that many of us use often or may even understand. It affects many of us though. Culture shock is essentially a sensation of unpleasantness that someone can feel when they are suddenly exposed to a new and different culture than what they are used to for a long time and it can have long-lasting effects on how an individual perceives and integrates a new culture. In America, we unwittingly experience culture shock all the time as we are such a diverse Nation. For some of us though this minor psychological effect can turn into a massive handicap that few understand. As a child, I was raised in a small Southern town where the population was 98% white Christians. Then when I was ten I was suddenly thrown into disarray when I moved to Fort Myers, Florida, a huge city full of people of different ethnicities, beliefs, and cultures that I had just not been prepared for. Coupled with this, my mother was now the wife of a Puerto Rican man who introduced me to Hispanic culture in the house, only stacking more stress onto young me. While I did eventually adjust to the idea of different people being around me and learned to accept differing cultures, it was a difficult process for me. Now as I have entered college after living in that same small town where I originally grew up several of my graduating peers are now experiencing their own culture shock, leading me to ask myself how many other people my age are suddenly finding themselves feeling this way, and how can I help them? So here are the 5 steps I have come up with to help others if they experience culture shock.
1. Accept The Truth
You have culture shock. That is a hard thing to admit. Just the idea of having it gives off the idea that you are sheltered or some kind of societal reject. Like with everything though, treatment cannot even be considered until diagnosis. You must be able to admit to yourself that you are experiencing Culture Shock and then ask yourself, what is it you are being unnerved by. One of the things that heavily unnerved me when I felt Culture Shock was other languages. When my stepfather spoke Spanish or I heard other people speaking languages I did not understand it made me incredibly uncomfortable. It took me a long time to actually face this truth, but it was necessary for me to move on. Now I am the exact opposite, with several of my friends speaking multiple languages ranging from Spanish and German to Korean and Mandarin and I dabble in Spanish and Latin.
2. Watch And Listen
Now that you have accepted what is happening to you, you need to address it. The best way to do this is to continue to try to understand what it is that you do not like. The best way to do this is to just pay attention to the things people do around you that are different ask yourself why they do them that way. This is essential as one of the common symptoms of Culture Shock is a feeling that the people around you are "just weird for the sake of being weird" when in reality it is just that they are doing things in a different light. At the base of it most cultures try to answer the same basic questions of how their people speak, act, think, eat, worship and other basic societal principles. What differs is the methodology.
3. Try New Things
I know that this sounds so babyish. It's the kind of thing parents tell their kids when they want them to eat their vegetables. It holds a unmeasurable truth to it though! For all you know you might actually enjoy some of the things within that culture but you will never know until you give them a chance. Try new foods. Celebrate like the locals. Visit a different kind of church/mosque. There are so many ways you can try to experience different cultures in small doses to see what you like and don't like. This also unalienates you from them.
4. Remember Your Roots
Do not lose who you were! As you move forward make sure to keep in mind where you came from. Thinking often about where you came from and comparing it to where you are now while following the other steps will lead to you starting to look at both in new ways. The more you think of the place you left as "where I once was" the more you will start to see both the flaws there that you never noticed and the best parts of it you wish you had. You can carry on with the best things and the things that made you while filling in the gaps with the new things you have learned.
5. Integrate On Your Time
Possibly the most important step is that you do this at your own pace. Do not allow others to feel like they are rushing you to change who you are. All this will do is make you hate the new things in your life and see them as forced. Accept them at a speed that works for you and you will have a much smoother transition than you would any other way.
