When you are planning to move to a new country, it is a bit exciting and a bit stressful. When you finally reach your destination, you will have many new experiences to enjoy. But as soon as all the excitement is gone, you may feel tired and disappointed. For many immigrants, this is the time when they feel the most loneliness and the depression of immigration comes to them. In this article, migration depression, its symptoms and natural ways to deal with migration depression will be discussed.
Depression after immigration
Immigration has emerged as a social determinant of mental health and depression disorders in particular. Because it is associated with increased stressful experiences in change, loss, perceived discrimination and social marginalization, which can cause depression in migration. A case study has shown that immigrants show more symptoms of depression than non-immigrants, which is mainly due to their low economic status.
More than 56 million immigrants live in Europe, many of whom were born or have been living in this region for more than two decades. Even though immigrants may be healthier than the native population when they enter the host country due to the “healthy immigrant” effect, with the passage of time and the experience of immigration depression, their health deteriorates rapidly.
When you arrive in a new country, you may not know many people. Making new friends is difficult, especially when you may not speak the same language, or share cultural memories. You may feel isolated. You don’t know how to express these feelings of disappointment or depression because you have worked so hard to achieve your immigration goals and now you feel happy. Most immigrants go through five stages of culture shock in their immigration journey. They leave behind, which can lead to migration depression.
Stages of depression after immigration
In this part, we describe Stages of depression :
The first stage: the honeymoon or tourist stage
You have come to the country for the first time. You feel like a tourist and discover a new place. If the migration was your choice (and not the choice of your spouse or the choice of other family members), you will feel satisfaction, excitement, interest and curiosity. But if the migration was not your choice, you may suffer from post-immigration depression from the very first stage. Stage one can last several days or several long weeks or several months. It is different for different people.
Second stage: crisis
You feel tired and lonely. You have lost your friends and family. Some immigrants feel sad, some feel angry and feel the initial symptoms of immigration depression.
If you cannot speak English well, you will probably feel embarrassed, confused and insecure. You cannot understand what people are saying to you, and people cannot understand when you are talking to them. This can be very frustrating.
You may have a headache and other body pains. Some immigrants suffer from insomnia while others sleep a lot. This stage is the most difficult time for any immigrant, which can increase the depression of immigration. You might start talking about how my country was ideal. You may think that maybe emigration was a wrong decision and you should go back. These are normal thoughts and feelings. The crisis situation can last several months or several years.
The third stage: adjustment stage / coping stage
You feel a little better and more comfortable in your new country. You are learning a language. You have already experienced many things and know what to expect in different situations. You may still suffer from migration depression, but it is better to know that this is normal and it is better to use the help of a psychological consultant.
The fourth stage: the stage of independence / assimilation:
You feel at home in your new country. You are now bicultural. This means that you understand and appreciate both cultures – the culture of your first country and the culture of the new country. Finding cultural commonalities will help you cope with immigration depression.
You are now a stronger person than before the migration. Immigration is not an easy task and you must have many challenges to overcome it and deal with immigration depression. Now you are a stronger person and you have much more knowledge.
The fifth stage: reverse culture shock
You go to visit your native country and suddenly you are shocked and surprised. This is not what you expected! You thought that your home country would be the same as before, but it is not. You have progressed, now you know and understand more than before.
Culture shock should not be confused with immigration depression, but if these stages are not passed safely, it can lead to post-immigration depression.
Symptoms of immigration depression:
Immigrating and living in a new country with a different language and customs is an intense event. This may sometimes lead to migration depression.
When you are depressed:
You have been depressed for more than two weeks in a row and you feel very sad.
You don’t want to do anything anymore or you can’t enjoy it.
In general, the symptoms are as follows:
Feeling sad:
When you have post-migration depression, you are very sad and cry a lot. Or you may be very low in spirit. On the other hand, you may feel nothing. It seems that your emotions are “dead”.
Thinking negative thoughts:
People suffering from post-immigration depression often have symptoms such as concentration problems and forgetfulness. They are very worried and have negative thoughts.
Depressed people behave differently. You prefer not to see other people and get angry easily. You often sleep and eat too much or too little.
Physical symptoms of depression such as pain:
Sometimes, people with depression have physical symptoms such as:
tiredness
Loss of energy
dizziness
backache
Headache
These symptoms probably don’t make you immediately think of a mental health counselor. Physical symptoms will decrease when your post-migration depression is properly treated.