I recently carried out a survey with some other re-entry coaches to find out what your struggles are in re-entry. We had over 200 responses! We looked at the range of feelings experienced and coping strategies used by expats from many different sectors (mission, Non-Governmental Organisations, corporate, educators, students, military and accompanying spouses). I’ll soon post some blog posts about what we found. As a taster, here’s a Wordle to sum up some of the feelings associated with re-entry that you came up with…
The Wordle includes over 50 emotions, and probably the most common emotional states were conflicted and sad. There were also positive emotions about going home – excitement, relief, happiness, adventure etc. As you can see from the diagram, the more ‘negative’ emotions – such as loss, confusion, anxiety, shock and frustration – took up more than their fair share of the experience.
This raises questions…
What is it about re-entry that makes it such a struggle for many people? Why should it be harder than going overseas in the first place? Where and what is home? What if it could be approached in a different way to make it a more positive experience? What strategies have people found helpful to keep them sane during their repatriation? And how can you find the support you need during your re-entry? I hope to answer these questions and more as I reveal bit by bit what the survey results have shown. You may have already gone home or be in the process of packing up and getting ready to go. Whichever, I hope you will find value from these posts and join in the discussion with me about how to make it easier.
Find out more about being supported during your re-entry here.
14th June 2017