​​​Is Your Expat Life a Wonderful Adventure or Total Overwhelm?

As an Expat, I know that you’re someone who feels there’s more to life than the mundane. You have adventure in your heart and inspiration in your soul. You understand that life is all about growing and evolving as a person; exploring new horizons and seeking out new experiences.

Perhaps you've relocated to one country, or perhaps you have resided in multiple countries.

Regardless of your circumstances, one thing is clear: you're a driven and inspired person who understands that life has much more to offer. This is precisely why you chose to become an expat.

Expat life can certainly be a wonderful adventure. But it also comes with its own level of stress and challenge.

Here's what many of my expat clients tell me. Maybe some of these will be familiar to you.

I feel so isolated.....

I pictured myself in a new life, with great new friends, socialising and relaxing, but actually everyone has their own busy lives and I often feel lost and lonely

I thought when I changed location everything would be better - but it's not.....

I thought my new life was going to be relaxed, easy and far less stressful. The reality is that I've brought my old problems with me. I'm still anxious, lacking in confidence, or having relationship problems. The challenges of expat life just seem to make those problems feel worse.

I feel overwhelmed by living in a different culture.....

It's been much harder settling into expat life than I realised - small problems seem like huge mountains. The bureaucracy is so stressful to deal with.

I've had a sudden turn of events in my life that I never thought would happen - this wasn't part of the plan.....

My idea of a new life certainly didn't include: a health problem, anxiety attacks or a relationship break-up.

One of us is at home, the other works away a lot. We find it hard to balance our lives.....

One minute I, or my partner, is dealing with home life and kids alone. The next minute we're back to being a family unit again. The kids are confused. No one knows the rules.... and frequent arguments are happening.

I keep thinking I should be happy in my new expat life - but I'm not. I feel like I'm being so ungrateful.....

I look around me and realise that I'm so lucky to be living here, but still, I'm plagued with worries and feel overwhelmed. Then I feel guilty for being negative.

Our dream business feels more like a nightmare.....

We were so excited about starting our business abroad. But we're so busy earning a living that we never get to enjoy it. Life wasn't meant to be this way. We're always arguing and caught up in resentment and power struggles.

If any of the above seems familiar to you, you're certainly not alone. Many expats struggle with these issues, but they can easily be resolved.

As an expat myself, and having helped many others, I fully understand the ups and downs.

It's important that you get help from someone who fully understands expat life, and, is also a professionally qualified therapist to help you overcome your problems so that you can continue on with a much happier life.