Halfway home; what moving abroad does to your brain

As humans, we can´t help but become alarmed by everything “foreign” and unknown. 

Being brought up in a particular environment and culture, living elsewhere than your home country may feel overwhelmingly alienating. At the same time, it can be the most life-fulfilling experience. Must you abandon your national identity when leaving your home country? What are the inevitable consequences of moving on the mind? This is what happens to your body and brain when you live abroad.

Living abroad; good for your brain

“Making a big life change is pretty scary. But know what´s even scarier? Regret,” remarked the American philosopher Zig Ziglar. Every change in our lives, no matter how big or small, changes us without return and rewires our brains, influencing our future. While challenging, it keeps you feeling the most alive and active, discovering yourself and the world around you.

A neuropsychologist in the US, Dr Paul Nussbaum recently reported that living abroad and travelling triggers the production of new dendrites in the brain; stimulating your mind as it “literally begins to look like a jungle.”

More than anything, as we get older, acquiring new skills can protect us from developing illnesses like Alzheimer´s and Dementia. Dr David Reynolds at Alzheimer´s Research UK emphasised; “Cognitive reserve is thought to explain why some people´s brains are more resilient to damage than others, and there is increasing evidence that being bilingual throughout life could increase our cognitive reserve.”

Learning a new language, living in a different climate, and trying new foods are just some of the things that people experience when living abroad; spending more time in participation than in passive auto-pilot mode.

None of us have asked to be born in the country that we were. Brought up almost against our will, it can be tormenting to feel trapped in your environment. Fortunately, there is a whole world, unexplored, waiting for us just outside our windows; any time it can be accessed, as long as you embrace change.

By moving abroad, you benefit by choosing your surroundings. Struggling with health, many have found their cure in warmer, pleasant climates. Feeling misunderstood, others have moved to live in communities with which they share habits and values.

Harvard Business Review recently surveyed 1,874 people, including those who have moved abroad and those who´ve stayed in their home country. The correspondents were questioned on whether they had a “clear sense” of who they were and how often they experienced a “conflict between the different aspects” of their personality.

The data proved that those living abroad had a much clearer sense of identity, as once faced with new and different beliefs and cultures, they evaluated their own and built a deeper inner world, expanding their emotional depth, intelligence, and social skills. Remember the feeling you get when you explore a new city, meet a new person, or watch a life-changing movie; living abroad, every activity feels more engaging due to the increased activity of our brains, making life feel less than “the same old.”

Living abroad; bad for your brain

“An occupational disease of people who have been suddenly transplanted abroad,” is how the Canadian anthropologist Kalervo Oberg defines “culture shock,” which comes with a bundle of emotions, including confusion, fear, adjustment, and excitement. The debate about nature and nurture has yet to hold an answer to what affects us more but the fact that our childhood and early life shapes us has no doubt. Moving from the country in which you were brought up, then, can unfortunately cause a “culture shock,” that never seems to end.

A recent study titled The Mental Health Status of Expatriate Versus US Domestic Workers found that 50 per cent of foreigners in the US were at risk of depression and anxiety; two-and-a-half times higher than those born in the US. Chris Neill, a counsellor based in Spain, also noted that depression rates can be up to 50 per cent higher among people who live abroad.

In France, Scandinavia, and the UK, AXA healthcare reported that anxiety was the top difficulty for immigrants, with 32n per cent experiencing it regularly in the UK, 27 per cent in Scandinavia, 24 per cent in France, and 23 per cent in Dubai. While struggling with mental and physical health, it may be more complicated for immigrants to access healthcare, especially without the language and proper communication, which is the key to accessing wellness.

With different appearances, struggles with language, contrasting values, and religious divisions, living in a foreign country can feel as though there are too many barriers for you to try and break, leading to feelings of isolation, which are even worse in those who have migrated illegally and sadly, turn to crime and violence. 

Living abroad; halfway home

An English man in New York or a Brit in Spain, living abroad can sometimes feel like you´re halfway home. But we can´t forget that “wherever you go, you take yourself with you”, for better or for worse. In the modern world, we are fortunate to be at least a little less judged based on our nationality than we would´ve been in the past.

With rising globalisation, people often find themselves forming a new national identity and building international communities; a Dutch Spaniard, an Armenian American, a Ukrainian German. Living in the 21st century and having online access to the entire planet, we are the first generation who has developed as far in international collaboration and it is now our decision whether we will feel halfway home abroad or whether we will find the inner balance of feeling at home no matter where we go.