Psychological Effects of Relocation

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Outline

This is an essay that discusses the problems faced by members of a family in connection with their relocation to a new place. They face a lot of problems before and after the relocation. The family includes an adolescent girl. Her problems are the main issue for the family. There are physical as well as psychological problems connected with relocation. This essay focuses on psychological problems, and it also suggests certain solutions for overcoming such problems.

Introduction

The term relocation means shifting from one place to another. It is very simple to define the term. The real problems arise if the shifting is from a place where one lived for a long twelve years. It will be a nightmare for the family, and further, the parents’ fear will increase if they had a junior high daughter. This will cause sleepless nights and various psychological disturbances in their minds. The psychological disturbances can be in the form of stress and anxiety. It can be the thoughts about the unknown new environment and whether the daughter will be able to fit in the new or unfamiliar atmosphere. The main problem is that the daughter never faced such a situation in her life. His anxiety and pressures will increase while thinking about how she will cope with the new environment, also whether this relocation will affect her studies.

The psychological problems associated with the relocation

Psychological problems arise before and after the relocation. Transfer trauma is one of the psychological effects, which is caused due to relocation. “The condition termed relocation stress or transfer trauma refers to a set of symptoms and outcomes that result from a transfer from one environment to another.” (Transfer trauma, n.d., para.1). This is always associated with depression and irritation. Also, it causes anxiety, anger, fear, loss of trust, and insecurity in the mind of the person. Anxiety is caused because of over-thinking about the relocation. It causes disturbance in thoughts, and one will find it very difficult to make the proper decision. Anger is caused when nothing goes in one’s own way. This results in a loss of control of the mind. Over-tension results in a lack of sleep that will bring fear in the mind of a person. This only increases one’s anxiety. Loss of trust will influence the mind of a person when one loses self-belief and confidence. Insecurity feeling is caused when one thinks about the new environment where he has to relocate, how the people will be over there, what kind of society that place will have, whether one will get all kinds of facilities etc. Separation anxiety is the specific form of transfer trauma, which is caused due to the thinking of an unfamiliar environment to which one needs to go. The grief associated with relocation is explained by Miranda van Tilburg et al. in their book ‘Psychological Aspects of Geographical Moves’ when the authors opined, “Moving from home similarly implies multiple losses of persons and objects like a house, places of emotional significance, possessions, friends and family, jobs, roles, etc.”(Tilburg, & Vingerhoets, 2007, p.37).

These are the main psychological problems that can affect a person when he is required to shift from one place to another. Other aspects that affect a person at the time of relocation are moving away from the social status that he has acquired in the society, deep sentiments over the accustomed pattern of life and work, close relationships with friends and colleagues, the economic burden of relocating and the busy work schedule ahead. The person may have developed an intense attachment to the culture of the society where he lived for a long. Also, once relocated, he needs to change the routine he followed hitherto. All these bring sickness into one’s mind before relocating to a new place. The psychological problem of relocation won’t be limited here. These problems will persist when one reaches a new location. The cultural problems and fitting in problems will always be there. The psychological problems such as nostalgia, feelings of grief and mourning, helplessness, anxiety, depression, and pessimistic thoughts will haunt when one reaches the new location (Problem of psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Russian- speaking immigrants in New Zealand, 2009).

Solutions to cope with the psychological problems of relocation

To ease the tension and stress related to moving the family to a different place, the best strategy that can be adopted is good planning and preparation. This will help the person to focus on the process of relocating and to remove the anxiety associated with it. Keeping a notepad to write down all the requirements connected with moving home will also prove instrumental in organizing the process of shifting. Another important thing is collecting as much information as possible about the new location and the surrounding area where one plans to live, which will remove any biased opinions about the place and the people. Adopting different stress-management techniques such as meditation, relaxation exercises, autosuggestion about positive things and adventure of moving to a new place, etc., are also highly helpful to get relief from possible psychological problems caused by relocation. It is better to share the feeling of anxiety or homesickness with family members and get the needed support from them. The July 14, 2009 edition of the ‘PTSD Information’ magazine presents comprehensive methods to overcome relocation stress. The main techniques are:

Gaining a sense of control that involves proper planning and prioritizing the tasks.
Finding outlets for tension by allowing one to release pent-up emotions and keeping a journal to express the feelings of relocation in written form, which has therapeutic importance.
Helping the children to handle stress by explaining the symptoms and become role models, having confidence and a positive attitude. (Overcoming relocation stress, 2009).

The effects of relocation on the family

The family as a whole is equally affected by the shifting of home. The situation of suddenly finding oneself in a totally alien place is disturbing, and this is quite difficult to cope with. The process of adjusting to a new locality and culturally and socio-economically different neighborhood takes much time, and it increases the stress level of the family. If the family consists of young children, the relocation is more stressful since the children find it hard to adjust to the changes in their environment and feel disorientation. Sometimes these children are known for their academic brilliance and leadership in their present school, and the shifting to a new school may affect them adversely. The older members are another vulnerable group that feels intense tension and stress. Relocation may cause psychological problems for women, especially those working presently. Shifting of their job along with their spouse can also cause conflict.

To cope with these problems, the entire family unit should cooperate and try to understand the situation from a broader outlook. Adequate communication and Discussion among the family members on the problems of relocation is also vital in finding a remedy to stress experienced by members. This will help them to understand fully various dimensions of the psychological stress they suffer and think of possible solutions by themselves. Since the major responsibilities are undertaken by the head of the family, support from other members is inevitable in the adjustment to new life. In the book ‘Moving Families’ the author Mary Haour-Knipe explains about some families who could adjust well where she says, “They talked of discovery, of increasing sophistication, of an expanded world view, and of increased independence.” (Haour- Knipe, 2001, p.215).

Major relocating problems related to the junior high daughter

At the time of relocation, their junior high daughter was an adolescent. She completed her childhood in the place where they had lived before relocating. Due to this transfer, she missed her neighbors, peer groups, and the society and culture in which she lived for the last 12 years. This may cause some psychological changes in her. Here one important reason for the psychological changes is her age. Generally, adolescent children show more attachment to their peers than their parents and other family members. Relocation forces them to separate from their peers. In the adolescent stage, children fit in a group, and they develop their self-identity and self-esteem with the help of this group. Separation from the peer groups at this stage may badly affect their self-esteem. It may cause identity conflicts and problems in self-concept. This separation, especially from peers, may generate loneliness, depression, and sadness in adolescents. According to a journal report on the website Wiley InterScience, 76% of girls express sadness as their initial reaction to replacement. Due to replacement, children are forced to take admission to new schools. Many of them can’t adjust to the new environment. The culture may be entirely different from the lifestyle in which they lived. This will lead to more problems. They may have to struggle to find suitable peers in the new location. According to the Wiley InterScience report, 18% of adolescent girls face a lack of confidence in the ability to adjust to the new school, and it causes anxiety in their minds. There is a probability that adolescents have a love affair. The relocation may affect their love affair. It can cause stress in their mind. The above-mentioned problems may happen to this family’s junior high daughter (Puskar & Ladely, 2007).

To join a new group, the adolescent may resort to using alcohol or drugs. This will ruin the morality and ethics they keep as part of their culture. There is another possibility of substance abuse as part of an attempt to overcome the stress related to shifting.

For overcoming these problems, adolescents need proper support from their families. Parents should give keen attention to their adolescent children in this situation. Otherwise, it may cause behavioral problems and sometimes psychiatric disorders. According to a report from the website Human resources and skills development Canada, “implicating parental supervisory capacity is a key mediating mechanism-linking relocation with delinquent child behavior.” (The relationship between geographic relocation and childhood problem behavior- October 1998, 2006, Discussion, para.2).

For overcoming these problems, parents should try to remove loneliness from children’s minds and encourage them to accept reality. They can help the children to find new peers and prevent them from substance abuse. By helping them to find a lover as early as possible, parents can reduce their stress to a certain extent. They should have an understanding of the peculiarities of the adolescent stage and the problems they face due to transfer. As parents, the teachers in the existing school and the new school can help the adolescents to solve these problems. They can give special care to such students. If parents or teachers find any kind of behavioral changes in the relocated adolescents, parents can seek the help of a counselor. A counselor can help adolescents to understand the situation and suggest methods to overcome the problems.

Conclusion

The relocation of home to an entirely different place can be a painful experience. Often the family members suffer from anxiety, stress, and adjustment problems. But, attempts to perceive the change or situation in an optimistic outlook and a greater understanding of the family about the dilemmas experienced by each member and subsequent efforts to solve them will definitely help to cope with possible problems of relocation.

References

Haour- Knipe, M. (2001). Moving families: expatriation, stress and coping: Summary and conclusions. Routledge. 215. Web.
Overcoming relocation stress. (2009). PTSD Information. Web.
Problem of psychological and sociocultural adaptation among Russian- speaking immigrants in New Zealand. (2009). The Free Library. Web.
Puskar, K R., & Ladely, S J. (2007). Relocation stress and adolescent female: depression, anxiety and coping. JCN: Journal of Clinical Nursing, 1(3), 153-159. Wiley Inter-Science.
The relationship between geographic relocation and childhood problem behavior- October 1998: Discussion. (2006). Human Resources and Skills Development Canada.
Tilburg, M V., & Vingerhoets, A. (2007). Psychological aspects of geographical moves: Grief. Amsterdam University Press. 37. Web.
Transfer trauma. (n.d.).

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