Summarize:
Conclude the blog series by emphasizing the strength and resilience of international students. Reiterate the importance of seeking help when needed and remind readers of the wealth of on-campus and online resources available to them. Invite readers to stay in touch for future posts and updates.
Participation and Interaction
I wish more international students would share their experiences and offer help with their health!
Article 5 – Friendship and Love
Article 5: Friendship and Love
International students experience the pressures of friendship as described in the previous post, and many times put pressure on themselves because of their financial means. The complexities of navigating friendships in a foreign context can significantly impact international students’ social lives and well-being (Martinez & Koyama, 2020).
International students’ pressure on love is also related to money, and of course the pressure caused by cultural differences. The interplay between financial situations and romantic relationships can exacerbate stress for international students (Nguyen & Le, 2019).
It is almost a common rule for international students to fall in love: break up after graduation. Because they face uncertain future. Some international students may stay in the U.S. for graduate school after graduation (probably at a different school), while others may return to their home countries after graduation. The uncertainty of these futures and the possibility of long periods of long-distance lead international students to end the relationship after one of them graduates.
Contributing to this situation is also the cost of living. Many international student couples start living together soon after they get together because it only requires two people to share one’s rent and living expenses.
However, living together too early also brings many disadvantages such as different living habits and different concepts of life. These differences can easily lead to frequent quarrels between two people, which not only does not reduce the burden of life, but also increases a lot of anxiety.
Early cohabitation will also bring many negative effects to international students. Two people living in one apartment room have no private space and time. The lack of space and time means that the hobbies you’ve been doing will probably not be available anymore. It also means that you don’t have a place to go when you want to be alone for a while. I’m an example of this. My girlfriend and I have our own apartments, but we always live together in one of them. This has caused me to hold on to a guitar for 15 years that I haven’t touched since I’ve been living together. I also don’t have time to go to the range and practice archery. I was in great need of space and time just for myself, which is one of the reasons I went to counseling later.
Balancing friendship and love is also a big stressor: The delicate balance between maintaining friendships and romantic relationships can be particularly challenging for international students (Tian & Lowe, 2018).
Premature cohabitation can also force international students to make trade-offs between friendship and love. Premature cohabitation causes international students to have to give up some of their friendships. This also means that you will receive less support from outside people. Also the idea that you want to be involved in your friends’ activities but have to compromise by not going can make you feel anxious or even depressed. Let’s take myself as an example: I love to play on the computer, but since I’ve been living together I haven’t been able to, and my friends don’t ask me to play games anymore. My girlfriend doesn’t have a good relationship with my friends, so I hardly ever go to events organized by my friends and they rarely contact me anymore. It’s especially hard for me every time I happen to see them eating and hanging out together but not calling me.
Suggestion Summary:
Attend counseling for appropriate psychological interventions when necessary. Sometimes just talking about it is a lot better than keeping it to yourself all the time.
Find a lifestyle that works for you, and if you need private time or space, it’s best to communicate that ahead of time, preferably without cohabitation.
If you have to cohabitate and are having trouble communicating, try to make a little time for yourself when organizing your schedule and don’t let anyone know.
There are times when good friendship is more important than unhealthy love, so if you’re really feeling tired, consider making a choice.
References
Martinez, A. R., & Koyama, M. (2020). Navigating friendships and romance: Social pressures on international students. Journal of College Student Development, 61(3), 357-372.
Nguyen, S., & Le, T. (2019). Love and dating patterns for same- and mixed-gender couples among international students. Sexuality & Culture, 23(2), 530-546.
Tian, M., & Lowe, J. A. (2018). Intercultural friendships in higher education: Challenges and opportunities. Educational Review, 70(4), 474-491.
Article 4 – Financial Crisis for Overseas Students
Article 4: Financial Crisis for Overseas Students
Most international students who come to the United States to study are paid for by their families with high tuition fees, except for a few students who have scholarships, or who are sponsored by the local national government. So most of the students who can come to the United States to study are from families that are relatively well-off financially. But there is also a big gap between the rich and the poor.
The gap between rich and poor leads to stress: The disparity in economic backgrounds among international students can create social tensions and stress (Patel et al., 2021).
International students are a small group, so when international students from the same country come to the same U.S. university, many of them choose to get to know more people from the same country in the hope that their lives can be easier and that they can gain friendships.
Because most international students’ families are relatively rich, many of them have very rich families, and these international students have high living expenses every month. Their families just send them out to increase their experience, and don’t expect them to learn knowledge. This causes some international students from average families to spend money that they could not afford to spend in order to maintain rare friendships with wealthy international students. Moreover, the desire to compete with others may cause international students from average families to try things or activities that are out of their price range.
The anxiety that comes with this kind of comparison can create a lot of psychological pressure. Take myself for example: when I hear that my friends are living on thousands of dollars or even tens of thousands of dollars a month, I will complain, “Fuck, another rich guy”, and I have to figure out how to make it through the semester with a few thousand dollars on my card! I had to figure out how the thousands of dollars on my card were going to make it through the semester. Comparing oneself with peers from different economic strata can exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and anxiety (Kim & Yang, 2018).
Suggested Summary:
Take every opportunity to apply for scholarships or financial aid. Seeking financial support through scholarships and part-time jobs can alleviate some of the financial stress experienced by international students (Lee & Koeske, 2014).
If you don’t feel like you’re too busy, look for more part-time school positions.
Have a reasonable position on your family’s financial situation, and make more friends who may be in a similar financial situation to you.
Adjust your mindset so that you can just live well within your financial means.
References
Patel, S. G., Sooknanan, P., Chen, H., & Koyama, J. (2021). Financial stress among international students in U.S. higher education institutions. Journal of International Students, 11(2), 330-349.
Kim, E., & Yang, E. (2018). Socioeconomic diversity and the psychological stress of international students. Higher Education Studies, 8(3), 22-33.
Lee, J. S., & Koeske, G. F. (2014). Factors affecting the perceived stress of international students attending U.S. universities. Research in Higher Education Journal, 26, 101-117.
Article 3 – Building a Life Abroad on Your Own
Article 3: Building a Life Abroad on Your Own
International students also encounter many stresses in life that locals don’t.
Stress from traveling long distances across the country: The journey to a new country alone can be a significant source of stress for international students (Wang & Harding, 2019).
For international students, it can be stressful to travel across the ocean on an airplane alone. Especially with the decrease in flights during COVID, many people may need to transit many flights to come to the United States. And there may also be accidents.
For example, the first time I came to the U.S., I flew for more than 30 hours and my checked baggage didn’t arrive with me. The airport personnel couldn’t find it. All my belongings disappeared on the first day I arrived in the US. A week later, the airport personnel contacted me to find out what happened and sent it to me as soon as possible. The feeling of fear and powerlessness was fatal for an international student who had just arrived in the United States.
The stress of dormitory life: Adjusting to dormitory life with people from diverse backgrounds can present unique challenges (Brown & Holloway, 2018).
New students usually have a lot of roommates in the dormitory, and international students have to get along well with people of different races and hopefully get through the school year harmoniously. Of course, this is almost impossible. Unreasonable roommates, roommates who steal, roommates who bring the opposite sex to stay in the dorm, and so on. International students try to reason with them, but they suffer a language disadvantage, so they can only hold their breath and hope to apply for a single dormitory next year.
The pressure of renting a room in a foreign country: Navigating the housing market in a foreign country can add to the stress experienced by international students (Zhou et al., 2008).
A typical experience for international students renting a room outside is being treated differently. Many international students have experienced that the receptionist ignored your application for renting an apartment, and later told you that they don’t have your application. Many receptionists will tell international students that we need 3 months of bank statement, and when you give it to them, they say that you have made a mistake and need 6 months, and when you give it to them, they say that you have made a mistake and need 9 months. They see that you are not local and they will tease you. Not to mention deducting the security deposit and not sending you a check out email and then saying you didn’t reply to the email and overcharging you for the rent.
Stress from food and drink:
Different eating habits can cause a lot of inconveniences. Most international students prefer to eat food from their home country. Prolonged difficulties in accessing your favorite or customary foods can affect your health and mood. Digestion is also part of an emotional expression: for example, you want to go to the toilet when you are nervous. Prolonged difficulty in accessing the foods you are used to can have a high probability of causing international students to suffer from chronic diarrhea, anorexia, overeating, and significant weight loss or gain. Changes in physical form or physiological functioning due to diet can also affect people’s mental health.
Life Tip:
Attend the school’s nutrition program to learn about healthy eating.
Stick to your hobbies; hobbies are important in keeping you mentally healthy.
Exercise more and get into the habit of exercising on a daily basis.
Pay attention to your work routine and adjust your routine into a stable state.
Meditation: Try to wake up every day and sort out what you have to do today, and before going to bed review whether you have completed the day or not.
References
Wang, C., & Harding, T. (2019). Stress and coping of international students in the United States. Journal of International Students, 9(1), 62-78.
Brown, L., & Holloway, I. (2018). The initial stage of the international sojourn: Excitement or culture shock? British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 46(5), 504-518.
Zhou, Y., Jindal-Snape, D., Topping, K., & Todman, J. (2008). Theoretical models of culture shock and adaptation in international students in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 33(1), 63-75.
Article 2 – Contesting the Education System
Article 2: Contesting the Education System
Stress due to language barriers: (Smith & Zhang, 2018).
Although almost all students who come to the U.S. to study have taken a language test and have basic language skills in order to come to the U.S., it is not necessary to pass the language test in order to come to the U.S. to study. However, the language barrier is not something that can be ignored just because you have passed the language test. (Smith & Zhang, 2018).
Failure to understand American slang makes it impossible to integrate into American conversations. I believe that many international students have had this experience: when you are communicating with several Americans, suddenly one of them says a sentence that you seem to understand but you can’t. The others start laughing, and you can’t understand them. The others start to laugh, and you can’t understand them, but you can only laugh along with them in a fake way.
The pressure of not being able to adapt to the faster speed of speech or the habit of speaking. After getting a high score in TOEFL or IELTS listening practice, you think you have no problem listening to English. When you come here, you realize that people don’t speak in the same way and at the same speed, which is completely different from the practice questions. Many international students must have had the experience that in a group discussion, one person spoke a point of view while everyone was discussing, and the speed of this group member’s speech was a bit fast for you. You only heard a few words and nothing else, but the other panelists agreed and joined in the conversation. You’re too embarrassed to say you didn’t hear them, so you try to guess what the conversation was about by looking at some of the words.
Pressure from different education systems
Different countries have different educational philosophies and systems, which may be due to differences in population or culture. However, after many years of study in one education system, suddenly switching to another can cause your accumulated experience or methods to collapse. This can lead to international students not succeeding either in their own system or in the new one. This feeling of frustration, loss, and uncertainty can lead to serious psychological stress for international students. (Chen & Zhao, 2020).
Take myself as an example: I have experienced a typical Chinese education. Because of our large population, hundreds of thousands of candidates take the college entrance exam every year in order to compete for a place to go to college. In order to go to university, many children have to take a lot of classes at an early age, and after school they have to attend all kinds of cramming classes. Say something that will surprise you: six-year-olds learning computer programming, seniors arriving at school at 7:00 a.m. every day until 10:00 p.m. at night, and even no weekends and no vacations. After I came to the American University, I learned that you can’t just study hard to succeed here, but you also need a lot of social experiences and involvement in social activities. Especially when I decided I wanted to study psychology.
I had always believed that if I took more classes and studied more and got A’s in every class I would be successful. It was not until I realized that I needed to have experiences outside of school such as volunteering, internships, research projects, clubs, etc. to get into graduate school in the United States. I was at a loss as to what to do. I couldn’t keep up with the heavy load of classes, and I had to spend a lot of time and effort to find and participate in off-campus experiences. At the same time, I was surrounded by Americans who had several different off-campus experiences to compare to mine. And I have to say, they still prefer to recruit locals rather than international students for the same positions.
To summarize, the collision of education systems can cause international students to have the stress of declining grades, the stress of having fewer social experiences, the stress of having fewer resources, and the stress of having their own educational philosophies crumble. All these pressures together are like a snowball that grows bigger and bigger, which is the reason why many international students are depressed.
Suggested Summary:
Although language is a disadvantage, you should encourage yourself to communicate with locals more often to improve your English skills and learn the local education style as soon as possible.
One important point: don’t worry that you don’t understand what the locals are saying or that you don’t have the ability to speak clearly. Americans are more worried that it’s their fault if they don’t understand.
Utilize the resources around you: there are many resources at the university that can help you learn about local education methods, and there are also many opportunities. This is essential for better adaptation and integration into the new educational environment (Liu & Jackson, 2021).
Another important point: you are going abroad to study, if you come out and still follow the old way, then what is the meaning of coming out to study?
References
Smith, J. A., & Zhang, P. (2018). Language barriers and academic performance among international students. Journal of Language and Education, 34(5), 42-49.
Chen, L., & Zhao, X. (2020). Navigating the educational divide: International students’ perception of educational systems. Global Education Review, 7(2), 24-37.
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2021). Social support and adaptation strategies of international students during pandemic times. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 80, 1-11.
Article 1 – Cultural Bridges – Navigating Cultural Differences
Article 1: Cultural Bridges – Navigating Cultural Differences
The one I’m going to talk about is about the culture-related psychological stresses that international students can experience when they are in the United States. Especially the psychological stresses that international students may have, that locals don’t.
I was born in China and have lived in China for 19 years, and I have been exposed to the Chinese culture in my life for these 19 years. When I came to the U.S. after my covidency, I had been living there for 3 years. I have summarized some of the psychological pressure that the culture has brought to me.
The first is the sense of cultural belonging.
These pressures mainly come from the fact that in the United States, except for some big cities, I can barely feel the culture I am familiar with, and it is also very difficult to have the opportunity to celebrate the festivals I love. To give you an example of what I feel most strongly about, our biggest holiday every year is the Chinese New Year. There is an old saying, “It’s New Year’s Eve”, which means that after the 28th of the Lunar New Year, we enter the Spring Festival phase, which lasts until the 15th of the first month, the Lantern Festival. We all clean up our homes early and prepare things for the New Year, and before New Year’s Eve, we all go back to our hometowns to reunite and celebrate the festivities, and then in the new year, every family pays their respects to the New Year. Families that don’t value the holiday more will also celebrate for at least 7 days.
But being in the United States, we are still in class and taking midterms during the Chinese New Year. There are no Chinese New Year related elements in the schools, on the streets, or in the stores. We are still running around taking exams and keeping track of attendance in classes. The luckier or less fortunate students can get a few friends together for a meal and call it a holiday.
This sense of loss can be a serious violation of your happiness, your cultural belonging. After experiencing it you will feel lost inside and will have a feeling of being in pain. If you are a local you can simply refer to this example: not only are you not on vacation when you are supposed to be celebrating Christmas you also have a lot of exams and classes, and at the same time you don’t have the means to celebrate. The loss of cultural celebrations and belonging can significantly impact mental well-being (Lin et al., 2022).
Secondly, there is the contrast of cultures.
This is actually a good one, we would experience the same Christmas holidays in the US but we don’t celebrate Christmas much, more as a medium to take a vacation. Meanwhile the Chinese New Year, which is so dear to our hearts, cannot be celebrated. This can lead to us not being able to enjoy the locals’ holiday very much nor our own.
Over time this erodes our confidence in our own culture, and we don’t have the depth of tradition to enjoy the local culture. This pressure also strips us from our inner self. The cultural contrasts and lack of deep traditional engagement can lead to diminished self-confidence and identity confusion among international students (Lin et al., 2022).
There is also the contrast between me and my family and friends in China. We would video call and watch others having a happy reunion and celebrating the New Year, while we were 13 hours away from them, taking time out of our busy schedules to say Happy New Year to them. It’s a time when you realize that we used to celebrate the same holidays, but now we’re in a completely different situation. At this time, you have to hold back your sadness and tears and tell your family and friends that you are doing well in the U.S. and that you don’t need them to worry about you.
Finally, there is the cultural inability to empathize.
Because of the different cultures and lifestyles, it is very difficult for international students to find the right counselor when they need psychological counseling. Most of the counselors in the United States are local white people. These counselors are born and raised in the U.S. and rarely come into contact with foreign cultures, and what they come into contact with is most likely stereotypical. Simple example: real Chinese food doesn’t have fortune cookies, and it certainly doesn’t have dishes like Chicken Zuo Zong Tang, Sesame Chicken, or Beef and Broccoli. The cultural gap between international students and local counselors can hinder effective psychological support, exacerbating the students’ mental health issues (Lin et al., 2022).
So when international students go for counseling, it is hard for local counselors to really understand what is causing the international students stress. This often leads to international students spending an hour frantically searching for words or sentences to explain to the counselor, but in the end, it just makes them feel good about themselves, but it doesn’t really help to alleviate the psychological problems.
Here are some tips I’ve summarized that may help you:
Firm up inside your pride in your culture. If it’s a ritual you need, try shopping online for related items.
Find people who share your cultural background. This can be good for you to support each other.
Popularize your culture to your friends around you from different cultures, their interest in your culture is also a great support to you internally.
References
Lin, C., Tong, Y., Bai, Y., Zhao, Z., Quan, W., Liu, Z., … & Lu, Q. (2022). Prevalence and correlates of depression and anxiety among Chinese international students in US colleges during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. PLOS ONE, 17(4), e0267081. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0267081
Start with an empathetic and engaging introduction that acknowledges the excitement and challenges of being an international student. Highlight the blog’s aim to provide support, understanding, and practical advice for navigating mental health issues in the face of cultural differences, academic pressures, life changes, financial challenges, and interpersonal relationships.
Series Overview
Please note that this blog will publish a series of posts, each of which will be dedicated to a specific aspect of mental health for international students. This approach allows for a focused and in-depth discussion of each topic, making the content more manageable and relevant to the reader.
Article 1: Cultural Bridges – Navigating Cultural Differences
Article 2: Contesting the Education System
Post 3: Building a Life Abroad on Your Own
Article 4: Financial Crisis for Scholars Away from Home
Position 5: Friendship and Love
Participation and Interaction
Summarize.
Conclude the blog series by emphasizing the strength and resilience of international students. Reiterate the importance of seeking help when needed and remind readers of the wealth of on-campus and online resources available to them. Invite readers to stay in touch for future posts and updates.