cultural stress

1. Cultural Stress
How to overcome it

2. Start your journey! I am a global citizen. I am going on
a trip around the world. It‘s my first
time going abroad. So I ask
myself: What can I expect, what
should I be aware of? What if I get
a cultural shock? What if I get
homesick? Maybe we can take
that journey together and find
answers to all these questions.

3. Goal of the session
• Understand what Cultural Stress is.
• Understand that it is completely normal to
run through certain phases.
• Get sensible and animated to act solution
oriented!

4. Agenda
• Start your journey!
• Remember old journeys
• Cultural Stress
• What may cause Cultural Stress
• Signs and results of Cultural Stress
• The W-Curve
–Phases
–Symptoms and feelings
• Tips: Adapt to new culture

5. Remember old journeys
Let us look back for a second and remember
journeys we already had. Holidays, exchanges,
visiting friends abroad…no matter what. Did you
find anything?
Well, then ask yourself the following questions:
1. What differences in behavior, attitudes,
customs or traditions did I notice? How did I
react? (Consider emotions, thoughts, feelings)
2. Did I encounter any cultural barriers? What
did I learn and how did I overcome them?
3. How can these experiences help me on my
forthcoming trip abroad?
.
Take some time,
close the
presentation and
write down your
thoughts.

6. Cultural Stress
• Culture Stress is a fairly short-term response to "stimulus overload.“
• It occurs when
– You begin to respond to the behavior of the "new" culture.
– You change to a different way of living in a new culture.
– You move beyond understanding the culture to making it your
own so that you accept the customs, becoming comfortable and
at home with them.
• If you are trying to become a real part of the culture, to become
bicultural, you are likely to experience culture stress as you
assimilate some of the conventions to the point that they feel natural
to you.
• Cultural Stress often leads to culture shock.

7. Involvement
The more you become personally involved in the culture, the more
cultural stress you may feel.
Communication
Learning the meanings of words and rules of grammar are only a small
part of being able to communicate effectively. The whole way of
thinking, the common knowledge base, and the use of non-verbals are
necessary and come only with great familiarity with the culture.
What may cause Cultural Stress

8. Values
The greater the differences in values between your home culture and
your host culture, the greater the stress. Cultures may appear similar
on the surface but have broad differences in deeper values.
Temperament
The greater the difference in your personality and the average
personality in the culture, the greater the stress. A reserved person may
find it difficult to feel at home where most people are outgoing
extroverts. An extrovert may never feel at ease in a reserved culture.
What may cause Cultural Stress

9. Signs and results of cultural stress
• Feelings of anxiety, confusion, disorientation, uncertainty,
insecurity, and helplessness
• Fatigue, tiredness, lack of motivation, lethargy, lack of
joy
• Disappointment, lack of fulfillment, discouragement,
feeling hurt, feeling inadequate, feeling "out of it"
• Anger, irritability, contempt for the host culture, feelings
of superiority or inferiority
• Rejection of the host culture
• Homesickness

10. Phase I: Arrival/Honeymoon
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock

11. Phase I: Arrival/Honeymoon
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock
Link, if it doesn´t work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjRCzn9cWxQ

12. The W-Curve
Symptoms and Feelings
Phase I:
Arrival/
Honeymoon
• optimism and wonder
• excitement
• focus on positive aspects of
environment

13. Phase II: Culture Shock
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock

14. Phase II: Culture Shock
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock
Link, if it doesn´t work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9h_ZuJUo3Y

15. The W-Curve
Symptoms and Feelings
Phase II:
Culture Shock
• changes in dining and sleeping habits
• acute homesickness; calling home much
more than usual
• being hostile/complaining all the time
about the host country/culture
• irritability, sadness, depression
• frequent frustration; being easily
angered
• self doubts; sense of failure
• recurrent illness
• withdrawing from friends or other people
and/or activities

16. Phase III: Recovery
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock

17. Phase III: Recovery
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock
Link, if it doesn´t work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbLsJnhTnTo

18. Phase IV: Adaption
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock

19. Phase IV: Adaption
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock
Link, if it doesn´t work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Up4TkT_GF7M

20. The W-Curve
Symptoms and Feelings
Phase III/IV:
Adaption/
Recovery
• increasing self-confidence
• improved self-motivation
• cultural sensitivity
• You will be expanding social networks
and exploring new ideas
• You will feel increasingly flexible,
objective about your experience
• learning to accept and perhaps practice
parts of the new culture

21. Phase V: Return
home/Reverse culture
shock
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock

22. Phase V: Return home/Reverse culture shock
The W-Curve
Phases of cultural stress/shock
Link, if it doesn´t work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKr2YQNk6Pk

23. The W-Curve
Symptoms and Feelings
Phase V:
Return home/
Reverse culture
shock
• You may experience confusing reactions or feel
distant from family, friends, and peers.
• sense of disconnection or inability to articulate
all that happened
• You may not feel particularly at home in what
used to be very familiar surroundings.
• Frustration, Boredom , Restlessness
• Confusion, uncertainty
• Change in values, goals, priorities, and attitudes
• Feelings of isolation or depression
• Negativity towards your native culture

24. Based on the five stages shown before think of…
… possible symptoms/feelings that may occur in each stage
… reasons why these symptoms and feelings come up
… solutions how to cope with the challenges and symptoms
especially in the phases of cultural shock
Again: Take some time, close the
presentation and write down your ideas to
each question.
It‘s your turn!

25. 1. Realize that what you are going through is normal.
• Remember that the unpleasant feelings are temporary,
natural and common to any transition that a person makes
during their life.
• Be patient and give yourself time to work through the
process.
• Use the opportunity to share in conversation and express
your identity.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture

26. 2. Keep an open mind.
• Do not automatically perceive anything that is different to be
"wrong" or "negative".
• Withholding judgment will allow you to be an objective
observer and will facilitate the process of cross-cultural
understanding.
• Also, if you are going to a country with which you know close
to nothing about, do a little background information.
• As you learn about the country in which you are going to,
keeping an open mind is necessary, and, who knows, you
may find the reason for something you may not understand.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture

27. 3. Keep in touch with your home country.
• Read newspapers from home, international magazines, etc.
• Watch international television channels or surf the internet.
• Call home regularly.
• Have familiar things around you that have personal meaning,
such as photographs or ornaments.
• Find a supplier of familiar foods or visit restaurants that are
similar to your home cuisine.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture

28. 4. Talk to someone.
• Find friends who are going through a similar process, call
your family back home or see a counselor.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture
5. Get acquainted with the social conduct of your new
environment.
• Do not assume or interpret behavior from your own
cultural perspective or "filter".
• Behavior is not data.

29. 6. Improve your language skills.
• Cultural adaptation is greatly enhanced by perfecting your
language skills.
• Not being able to clearly communicate can create isolation
and loneliness.
• Make a point to join activities that give you the opportunity
to share in conversation and express your identity.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture

30. 7. Most importantly, maintain a sense of humor.
• Don't be too hard on yourself if you make a cultural gaffe
or don't know what to do in a social situation.
• Laugh at yourself and others will laugh with you.
• Most individuals will admire your tenacity and effort to
understand their ways, especially if you are devoid of
judgment and cultural comparisons that subtly and
perhaps unconsciously convey a veil of superiority.
Tips: Adapt to new Culture

31. Last Message
Be proactive to overcome Cultural Stress!