That isn’t to say you’re not glad to be home again. But if you’ve been away for years, it’s not necessarily easy to settle back in as though nothing’s happened. Why?

You’ve changed.

You’ve had experiences that perhaps your old friends and family can’t understand or relate to. Perhaps they consider your travel tales big-headed or redundant. But your perspective has changed, so you may well see old things differently.

Symptoms of reverse culture shock include:

• Frustration. Perhaps things seem too slow, or too fast, or you just don’t like the way something is managed, or how people behave.
• Disappointment. Perhaps you expected nothing to have changed, but it has. Settling back in, reconnecting and finding a new job can be hard.
• Depression, or feelings of isolation, that no one understands what you’ve been doing.
• Homesickness. This one may surprise you, because you are “home”. But if you’ve been living in another country, then you made that country your home. You are bound to miss it.

Ways to cope

• Get support. Many countries have organizations to help ‘repats’ readjust to living back home again. Try a web search in your area.
• Accept your feelings. Don’t fight them. Everyone returning after a period away will experience them while readjusting. Be patient with yourself and others.
• Create a routine. Part of the alienation phase is the lack of having a regular daily pattern. Even if you don’t have a job yet, make some daily plans and stick to them. Make social plans and create goals.
• Make a list of the most positive aspects of your time overseas. Keep them in mind as you readjust and seek work. You might feel your OE has alienated you, but many employers will be impressed, and people will come to appreciate how it has shaped the new you.