Culture Shock and Depression While on an Internship

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Reader’s Question

I am from India and am pursing an internship program in Thailand. I am in my final year and have completed 3.5 years of college in India. I am facing a problem because of the environment here, as I used to stay in college with loads of friendly people my age and was involved in many social activities. The place where I stay now is an industrial area with companies. The people who work in the companies are older than I and have their own families; I can’t gel with them. Another reason I am depressed is the people here don’t understand English at all, and I can’t speak the Thai language even though I have tried to learn it. I feel lonely with no one to talk to or go places with. Travelling here is a big problem for me, as all the names of the places are written in Thai, so I can’t make out the destinations. There are no recreation facilities in the company. My working hours are from 8 AM till 6 PM, and after 6 PM I feel terrible being alone in my room. I have tried ways to keep myself occupied but that hasn’t helped. I have to stay here until mid-June, and I have lost all hope to hang in here and wait for this end in June. Sometimes I think about suicide and ending things soon rather than waiting and feeling the torture of staying here.

Psychologist’s Reply

Let’s take a deep breath. The problem is that you’re feeling isolated and you need company in your sadness, right? You’ve reached out by writing this letter and been met: you are not alone. So, catch your breath and put to rest for a moment the notion of suicide. Let’s try to understand what is going on for you, and then talk about ways to help you survive for the next several months.

First, you’re near the end of a long hard road of school. You must feel exhausted and ready to graduate. On top of that, you’re experiencing severe culture shock and language shock, which is hard for anyone to bear. You’re also missing your friends from your old place. Your efforts to learn the language has failed. Yes, you have many reasons to feel depressed about your current situation.

On the other hand, you’ve made it through 3.5 years of school with only five months remaining. You sound like a marathon runner who has ‘hit the wall’ and is trying to find something inside yourself to stay in the race. If you succeed, then the torture will be over, you will have succeeded, and you will have a new self confidence and appreciation for endurance. So there is hope and something tangible to look forward to.

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Since you are writing to us, then I assume that your college does not have a student center or counselling center where you could find support. That’s OK, we can help you find support in another way. You mentioned that you previously had an active social life. Are you in touch with your old friends, able to make use of the internet and social media to strike up conversations with them? If there is even one old friend whom you can contact, perhaps become pen pals and make a plan to get together in June; that might help you see what a short time in Thailand remains for you. I trust you to extrapolate from that suggestion to the other ways you can make connections to your once and future friends.

Please remember: if all else fails and you despair, try all the alternatives before you try the ultimate alternative. Get yourself to hospital. There may be doctors available to you on an outpatient basis that can help you bear your burden. Remember that the hospital is there for this purpose.

You have a lot to offer and success is just around the corner.

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