Coping with Culture Shock

Jennifer Miesch, PhD & Sheryl Yee, LMSW

ISU Counseling and Testing Service

9/6/2018

What is CATS?

• Counseling and Testing Service

– Free, confidential counseling for students• Adjusting to school

• Managing stress, emotions

• Struggles with depression, anxiety

• Relationship concerns

• Overcoming trauma

• Identity, confidence concerns

What is CATS?

• Counseling and Testing Service

– Professional Testing Services• ALEKS Testing

• GRE, entrance exams

• Certification and Licensing exams

• Some course exams

Come to CATS

• To start Counseling Services

– Walk in to CATS, M-F 8am-4pm

– Meet briefly with a clinician who will listen to concerns & recommend services

Counseling Services

• Individual Counseling

• Group Counseling

• Couple Counseling

• Consultation

• Learn effective ways your body manages stress and emotional difficulties

• Practice strategies for relaxation and autonomic balance

Please get up and meet a few people

• A few questions:

• Where are you from?

• Who has been to Pocatello before?

• How long have you been in Pocatello?

Is Pocatello similar to other places that you have been before?

What are the differences that you have noticed from home?

Adjustment Process

• Honeymoon Phase – When first arriving, everything is exciting, new, and it all seems wonderful and positive.

• Culture Shock – With the continual confrontation of differences, it can be exhausting. This can take a toll to continuously feel lost in a new place, having to navigate cultural or language differences. What seemed cute in the honeymoon phase, now is annoying, irritating, and frustrating.

Adjustment Process

• Negotiation – Learning to adjust and achieve greater acceptance of differences. Finding a balance in your emotions and being able to relax in your new “home.”

• Adaptation - Reaching a high level of comfort in your new home is the final stage of adjustment. The order of things makes sense, you can talk to strangers with ease, and you understand cultural nuances.

Areas to Navigate in a US/Idaho culture

Friendships / Relationships

Dress

Greetings

Schedules

Professors

Stuck in Culture Shock

Navigating all these areas can be overwhelming. Symptoms may include:

• Extreme Homesickness

• Withdrawing from others, particularly avoiding those who don’t share your culture.

• Feeling conflict between the values of your native culture and the local culture

Stuck in Culture Shock

• Difficulty with concentration, feeling fatigued and bored.

• Feeling angry, uncomfortable, confused, frustrated or irritable and lose your sense of humor.

• Negativity toward the host country, people, and culture.

• Changes in appetite, sleep, health problems.

Coping Strategies

• Admit frankly that these impacts exist. It is not a sign of weakness to admit that you feel uncomfortable, tense or confused.

• Make friends and develop relationships. Getting to know local people will help you overcome cultural differences and understand Pocatello. It will also show you how to be more sensitive to cultural norms and expectations. You may also find that other students are having similar difficulties.

Coping Strategies

• Learn the rules of living in your town. Try to understand how and why the local people act the way they do. Their behavior and customs may be different from your own, but are neither better nor worse than what you are used to.

• Get involved in some aspect of the new culture. Whether you study art or music, or learn a new sport, being an interested student of the community will make a world of difference.

Coping Strategies

• Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise and take the time to sleep.

• Travel. Take the time to be a tourist and explore outside of Pocatello

• Do something that reminds you of home. Listening to your favorite music or practicing a familiar hobby can boost your spirits when you are feeling homesick.

• Be patient with yourself.

• Ask for help. Talk to friends, professors, advisors, IPO, Diversity Center, Counseling & Testing Service, etc.

Safety

• Idaho State University is one of the safest campuses in the United States.

• Rave Guardian app

• Culture Misunderstandings vs Discrimination• You will make mistakes. The people you meet will make mistakes. Let

us teach one another.

• This may sometimes rise to the level of discrimination. Having friends and using campus resources can be helpful if this occurs. You do not need to handle this alone.

Resources for Support

• Diversity Resource Center 208-282-3142• International Programs Office 208-282-4320

• Office of Student Affairs 208-282-2794

• Health and Wellness• University Health Center 208-282-2330

• Counseling and Testing Center 208-282-2130

• If living in Student Housing, your Resident Advisor is also a Support!

Come Talk to Us in CATS!

Pocatello Idaho Falls Walk in to Graveley Hall, Rm 351 Bennion Student Union Rm 223Call for more information: 208-282-2130 208-282-7750

Monday – Friday, 8:00 am-4:00 pm

Visit us online: www.isu.edu/ctc