It seems that after a year or even after couple of years, a new place of residence should automatically become home. You should feel good, safe, and comfortable there. After all, you already know where to buy good coffee, you have a favorite park for walks, and probably a local bank card. But sometimes you still feel sad, everything irritates you, and the feeling of lightness doesn’t come. Let’s try to figure out what we can do for ourselves in such a situation. We have gathered some tips that help us personally!
Accept Your Feelings: Don’t scold yourself for feeling lost, vulnerable, tired, or weak. Allow yourself to be who you are right now. Notice your feelings and give them space. Take care of your physical health. Moving is never easy. Most likely, you made an extraordinary effort to move to a new country and now have the right to take as much time for recovery as you need.
Celebrate Small Victories: Praise and thank yourself even for the smallest actions. Instead of getting upset because you don’t meet your own expectations, mentally hug yourself and increase your self-care.
Establish a Routine: With so many new things around you, it is necessary to calm yourself with familiar actions. Establish a daily routine—wake up at the same time, eat well, leave the house even if you work remotely. For example, give up grocery delivery and walk to the store for milk.
Create Pleasant Home Traditions: These traditions will become triggers for relaxation. This could be having coffee from your favorite mug on the balcony in the morning, watching a favorite series with the family in the evening, or daily meditation before bed.
Personalize Your Space: Make your rented apartment feel like your own. Even if you can’t repaint the walls or replace the furniture, you can surely hang a picture, buy towels in your favorite color, and place aromatic candles around the bathroom.
Build Social Connections: Talk more with the people around you, meet new people, attend networking events, play games like Mafia, and allow yourself to try new things, even those you wouldn’t have found interesting before. Your life has changed, allow yourself to change as well.
Explore Your New Country: Get to know the country you live in. Overcoming cultural shock and making local friends—all of this gives you a sense of fullness in life and makes adaptation easier.
Final Tip: Sometimes the pain and shock of moving are so strong that it feels like you’ve lost control of your own life. What to do in this case? We asked psychologist and art therapist Vika Luminarskaya, and here’s her advice: “Plan within the timeframes you can manage. If that’s a month, then let it be a month. There’s no need to aim for five or ten years. Allow the ‘must-dos’ to be quieter, listen to the ‘wants,’ ask yourself what you want and what would be good for you right now. Allow yourself to start letting go of the past and live in the present.”
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