enikohajas

Last week, I was invited to give a workshop on how social media affects our mental health. At first, the topic seemed straightforward,...

When is it no longer acceptable to not speak the local language? When are you expected to have local friends, a local partner, or a job in a national company instead of a multinational? When do people stop making excuses for your cultural differences and start expecting you to integrate? And what does that even mean for your identity, your confidence, and your wellbeing?

One of the most common struggles I see in my work as a psychotherapist with expats in Lisbon and beyond is this complex experience of identity and invisibility. Many clients tell me how being constantly defined by their foreignness leaves them feeling unseen and misunderstood.