This is a guest post by Peter Collin. He has a PhD and served as an academic consultant to several universities. He is also a seasonal professional writer at 1click dissertation to help students in completing their academic assignments.
In a recent survey, nearly 85% students who study abroad experience homesickness. Although this is study was on students, it is also very common amongst leaders. Homesickness is argued to be a form of anxiety that occurs when the world feels less stable around you. Psychologists state that homesickness can arise due to a variety of reasons, such as cultural shock from living in the new environment, life without friends, family and the comforts of home, inadequate coping mechanism in the new country. Leaders who experience it, might notice an increase in depressed feelings, anxiety, obsessive thoughts and minor physical illnesses.
Nevertheless, in my opinion, homesickness can be identified through this scenario; “In depression, sufferers find both university and home awful, whereas in homesickness university can feel awful while home may be seen in rose-tinted hues.”
Most of the leaders would normally start by being mildly depressed and anxious several weeks before leaving home, in anticipation of the impending change. However, others will be fine initially, and then to everyone’s surprise they find themselves feeling homesick later, perhaps soon after the completion phase one of a major project, or even at the start of their second year. But ordinarily it is the first few days or weeks after arriving which are the most difficult. [Read more…] about Being a Leader Abroad: How to Deal with Homesickness
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