Skip to main content

Calling The Philippines “Home” - Written Expressly For "Culture Shock"-



Calling The Philippines “Home” 

How important is a support system? 

Of course, most expats manage, eventually, to set up a new and trusted circle of friends and professionals, but in our experience a substantial number don’t.

These expats can suffer real distress from being removed from familiar support and from the social isolation that can happen in a foreign village, town or city.

People who don’t develop a new support network before overwhelming feelings of cultural and social isolation begin to seriously affect their everyday life may profoundly suffer for it.

Not surprisingly, expats, like us, who find it hard to settle in often don’t speak the local language, making it excruciatingly hard to communicate their growing distress, and possible depression, to anyone; Even if he or she does speak some Tagalog.

The real danger is that a condition which may start simply with a feeling of numbness or a lack of control or motivation, is internalised, just held inside. There are many reasons for keeping these feelings inside. Fear of the unknown; if I express these feelings will it make me look weak? How will others respond to me? Will it just make things worse?

Actually,  keeping everything inside serves to increase feelings of loneliness which may affect the quality of your life dramatically..

It is important that we, as expats in the Philippines, take care of ourselves in significant ways. It is helpful to always develop a support system outside of our immediate family situation.

If you are struggling in some of these ways it serves no benefit to you to choose to be in denial about it. Why deceive even yourself.? Understand that your feelings and struggles are not right or wrong. They just “are”. Join a local expat coffee group or something similar. Find one or two guys that you can talk to. They will likely understand and most importantly ,you will find that you are not alone any more.

Popular posts from this blog

Options For Submitting your 7162 Proof of Life form to SSA

Mail the Form SSA-7162 U. S. Postal Service Social Security Administration P.O. Box 7162 Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162 U.S.A. Courier the Form SSA-7162 Private Delivery Service (FedEx (Air-21), UPS, LBC, etc.) Social Security Administration Data Operations Center Attn: SSA-7162 Process 1150 E. Mountain Drive Wilkes-Barre, PA 18767-7162 U.S.A. FAX Form SSA-7162 You can FAX the form to the international desk using the following fax numbers: If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 00 to 16: 410-965-5882 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 17 to 32: 410-966-6782 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 33 to 49: 410-965-8054 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 50 to 66: 410-965-9409 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 57 to 82: 410-966-5552 If the last 2 digits of your social security number is 83 to 99: 410-966-1042 Be safe and attach a cover letter with your name & address as well as your SS#.

"Allergies" - Their effects in the Tropics - Pacific South Morning Journal ®

Manila- T here are countless sources for mould and bacteria that cause us all, especially expats, in the Philippines to suffer unnecessarily.  Expats are especially vulnerable because our bodies are not necessarily accustomed to the type of allergens in a new environment.  In terms of medications for your allergies   never assume that you cannot get the medication that you need in the Philippines. It will save you grief if you go to a few pharmacies and ask for what you need.. You may find the medication you want in a different brand or very similar meds under a different name. Also ask your friends on Face Book or other social platforms what they are using for similar conditions. It is helpful to clean your home using a bleach solution to kill mould and bacteria on contact… The common name for allergic rhinitis is hay fever. It is diagnosed when symptoms appear which includes itchy nose, mouth, eyes, throat, skin, as well as other parts of...

How Brexit turned the UK German

Industrial strategy, devolution and public investment. Stian Westlake offers up a fairy tale. of 2017. Share: When Britain voted to leave the European Union, few people expected it would result in the UK becoming more like Germany, the country that runs the European show. But that’s what ended up happening, and it was in 2017 that the process really began. Industrial strategy was the first step. Theresa May’s government decided that Britain’s ever-increasing trade deficit was a luxury that the UK, as an independent nation, could no longer afford. Already in 2016 Philip Hammond had begun to deviate from decades of Treasury orthodoxy by announcing £23 billion of investments into infrastructure, skills and research. Over the course of 2017, the UK proved the Treasury view wrong by investing effectively in downstream R&D, identifying its real industrial strengths, focusing big government budgets like health and energy on innovation, and sowing the seeds for a revival of productive bu...