Enikö Hajas

Living abroad is often portrayed as exciting, adventurous, and transformative. And sometimes it is. But what many expats don't expect is that alongside the opportunities can come periods of profound loneliness, grief, disconnection, and depression. When depression enters the picture, many people begin fighting two battles at once. The depression itself. And the constant self-criticism about having depression. As an expat therapist, I often see people become their own harshest critic during...

One of the most common coping mechanisms I see among expats is becoming different versions of yourself to fit different environments. When you move countries, cultures, languages, workplaces, and social circles, adaptation becomes a survival skill. You learn what works. You adjust. You evolve. At first, it feels like growth. You become more open-minded. More flexible. More resilient. But after enough changes, many expats find themselves asking a question that feels surprisingly difficult to...

People often assume that the more countries you move to, the easier adapting becomes. As if after the second or third relocation you somehow become immune to culture shock, loneliness, identity confusion, or the exhausting process of rebuilding yourself from scratch. But in my experience, that is not true at all. I moved countries multiple times, and if there is one thing that never truly got easier, it was this: Trying to adapt to a new culture without losing myself in the process. Every...