Stages of Culture Shock

Common theories describe the adjustment to living in a new culture comes in different stages of culture shock.

Most often the term "culture shock" however is only used to describe the low points in the relocation process. Expats often hear standard explanations when experiencing irritation by new cultural cues. Many an advice will be: Oh, it is totally normal to feel homesick, have sleep problems, feel exhausted, your children get chickenpox, etc. when you are so far away. You are just suffering of culture shock.

Yes, it is normal to experience this uprootedness with all its symptoms when relocation and living in a new cultural environment.

But to be more specific you have to see these feelings of negativity evolving in the whole process of cultural adjustment over a longer amount of time, like the years of your expat posting.

Kalvero Oberg was the first to set five distinct stages of culture shock in 1958. He included in his model of adjustment phases the experience of a reverse adjustment to the home country.

Oberg described the stages of culture shock as:

1. Honeymoon or tourist stage

2. Irritation and anger stage

3. Rejection or regression stage

4. Integration or assimilation stage

5. Reverse or reentry stage

In my description I will use the common four stages of culture shock (1.-4. of Obergs stages) including two further stages referring to the return to the home country after an expatriate assignment. When relocating to your home country you will experience these two phases and you should be aware of them, therefore I will describe them below as well.

Culture Shock is a very individual process and you will most certainly experience this during your relocation. But to be informed about the different phases or stages of culture shock is already a good start to deal with it. The first phase is also often referred to as honeymoon stage in literature, so read on to learn more about this stage.

First phase: Being happy and excited

When you arrive at your new posting abroad, everything seems to be exotic and interesting. You are curious to explore your new surroundings. You mainly see the positive side of your relocation. You are in a state of euphoria. Here in Cape Town it is easy to be carried away in that pink bubble as everything seems so colorful, happy, vibrant, cheap and exciting.

This state lasts usually for a couple of weeks, depending if you are starting your new expat life in a hotel or have to find your ways around the city organizing your new life and looking for a new home right from the start.

Second phase: Feeling overwhelmed

After some weeks of this euphoria you will start to realize that it is difficult to be in constant contact with the new culture. You feel like you lost the ground and realize how different everything is here to your home. You begin to miss home, it seems to you that everything you know is turned upside down and you do not understand the locals and you feel misunderstood and disadvantaged.

At the lowest point the culture shock manifests itself through the common symptoms of culture shock. You might feel you are at the wrong place at the wrong time and start avoiding people and places. This experience can actually be quite short but sometimes it might last up to several months before you realize the cause of your illness or unhappiness.

Third phase: becoming more open and accepting

Slowly you will understand the new cultural cues. This happens usually during your first year of your relocation. You will feel safer and more content with your life and will become more proactive again. You will go out and take action to meet new people and maybe you try to find new ways to live and enjoy your new lifestyle.

Life becomes easier and you understand more and more what is happening around you. You learn the local language, customs and way of living and will adjust slowly without loosing your own cultural identity.

Fourth phase: feeling settled

You still will compare the advantages or disadvantages of your new home with your country, but you are comparing everything in a more realistic way of seeing things. Things normalize; you know your new routine.

Life is not anymore so exciting and you are not so anxious anymore, and you feel comfortable with your new surroundings. You have got new friends and perhaps lead a different lifestyle here which you never thought possible to live or enjoy. You do not worry about everybody and everything but just feel at the right place.

Fifth phase: being excited about going home

Once your expat assignment comes to an end, you will feel anxious to leave your new found friends and your lifestyle, but on the other hand, and that will be dominating your feelings, there will be a great anticipation for being home again, to be back to all the people and things you missed. You plan already what you will do when you get home, but slowly have to acknowledge that people and things also changed or at least continued to grow or evolve back home.

This stage actually relates to phase one of new expat relocations.

Sixth phase: shocked about the differences

You start realizing that the grass is not greener on the other side. You feel disappointed that things also have changed at your old home and start to miss things from your last expat assignment.

But slowly as the whole process repeats itself again with usually less drastic effect you will settle again and live comfortably again.

You want to know which strategies are useful when dealing with culture shock? Please read on to learn how you can survive culture shock during your expat relocation

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