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Feeling exhausted & Unhappy
I'm just having a rough time so I just thought that maybe it's time to let things out.
I am an international student studying in Australia for around a year. I often go back home during my holidays and so This June-July holidays were the same....except this time, I'm not coping very well.
When I decided to study abroad, I knew I had to face numerous challenges. Amidst all the challenges an international student has to face, I believe the most challenging is to be genuinely happy. I am aware that things are rough at the start, trust me I have been the most patient now than in my entire life.
I always believed that things would get better. I never gave up. Became more occupied with volunteer jobs. Tried to do things I like or things for a purpose and applied to so many jobs in the hope that one day things will be in line with what I had planned to be.
I know that life cannot be controlled or planned, it has a mind of its own (at least in my case).
I'm just exhausted of trying so hard.....I am exhausted to a point that I do not feel happy anymore.
The main trigger for all of these were my holidays. I went home and like every time, I felt free and alive. I felt a sense of belonging and I had always been so active and involved in my community. I was known. I was me...
Coming back seems like I'm caged and stagnant. It feels like I'm a no-body. That was one of the culture shocks I had experienced as I came from a collectivist society, whereas Australia is largely individualistic.
And I have been taking a lot of initiative in changing this by being more involved by volunteering and trying to be active...but now at this point I feel like I have just burned out every bit of positivity and patience that was left in me- and this is the 1st week of uni.
Can someone give me tips on how to recharge yourself in a week to get back up again.
Comments
Hiya @Ishi
It takes a lot of courage to move away from everything you’ve known to a completely different country, especially for something as pressurising as study. I can also see how patient and open you’ve been to making the most of the opportunity. How you feel is completely understandable, it can be so hard to do all this without feeling like you have support networks in easy reach and everybody seems to already have their groups.
It seems like you get a lot of energy from being around your family and friends. Something that might help may be planning and scheduling in a weekly zoom call/online movie night/online games night on the weekend with family/friends back home. It always helps to have something you really look forward to, to get you through the week and make things seem less exhausting and repetitive. You can get creative with it. Perhaps you can write letters to them with photos from exploring the city you’re in, or send them gifts and snacks from here. It might also help to have this sense of support while you get through the time it takes to build a sense of belonging and purpose here. Do you know other international students studying here? Perhaps joining clubs that are specifically for international students might help you connect with others who feel the same way.
It's a tough position to be in. From personal experience it can be so incredibly difficult to maintain positivity when you can't see all the hard work you're putting in actually translate into something. So go easy on yourself, allow yourself to be frustrated if you need to. It IS a frustrating process. But know you are not alone. Feel free to keep posting, either about this or anything else on your mind. We’re always here for you 💙
Hi @Ishi ,
Good on you for reaching out to the community to share how you have been feeling lately. It must be so hard to transition from one country to another as a student, let alone facing the cultural differences.
I read that back home, you were 'known', appreciated and felt as sense of belonging, whereas in Australia, you are pretty much left on your own to fend for yourself. I can see that you have done what you can to get involved with volunteering and linking in with other communities, yet it has not taken away the unhappiness within.
It takes a lot of courage to be able to understand where you are now, what's working and not working for you, and do something about it. Kudos to you!
I'm reading that you are in uni. Have you ever contacted uni counselling services and other student services/program to see if they have any suggestions they can make or groups you can link in with? This resource may help guide you. For example, you can join interest-based groups at uni. This may help you connect with others.
Do you speak to you family back home to talk about how you are feeling? It is so important that you have someone you trust who you can speak to.
You are not alone. You have a whole community here to support you.
Hi @Ishi
Thank you for reaching out and sharing your experience and how you are feeling. I can imagine it would be very challenging to be an international student, at my university I have spoken to other international students and many feel the same way. Everything you have done is also inspiring because it is very brave of you to do all this in another country.
It's good that you are trying to be positive by not giving up and hoping that things would get better, however, it is also absolutely okay to just have a break and not push yourself to your limits. Indulge in some self-care and remember to take care of yourself because your mental and physical health is what is most important. Some ways you could recharge is to have some "me" time - this could be things like eating healthy foods, getting good sleep, doing something fun and just treating yourself. Remember not everything has to be perfect and do not be hard on yourself, we are only human. Take care and all the best 🙂
hey dw everything will be ok if you wanna talk i'm here you got this