Many of life’s most difficult and stressful moments involve some sort of change.

From births to deaths, to moving house or moving country, to illness and growing older,all change involves loss. Along with change however, there is always the introduction of something new, a new world, which can be both exciting and liberating, but also disorientating.

In terms of changing country, the two main areas that can cause the most disruption are the loss of supports (such as friends and family, or familiar places), and the changing of the social environment (for example moving between an extroverted culture and an introverted one, or a poorer less safe place to a wealthier more ordered one). In other words, many of the the things that supported you, helped you through difficult times are gone, and it takes time to find new ones. While at the same time, your new environment may have values that differ significantly from your previous one. This combination can understandably make things difficult.