Being an international student in Canada and mental health

Starting a new program naturally can be stressful but for an international student might be overwhelming, even. International students need to start a lot of things at the same time. A new program, living in a new culture, communicating in a new language, finding new friends, new rules, sometimes a new weather (especially in Canada!) etc. Clamitizing with all of these new differences needs time and of course resiliency.

If you're an international student and reading this post, I want to tell you that you were brave to sign up for this challenging journey. You might face anxiety, sleep problems, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO), financial burden, mental exhaustion, homesickness, loneliness, emptiness, and last but not least, depression. I hope I could give you a realistic perspective about what you might experience. I didn't want to make you disappointed, but knowing is half the battle and you can prevent a lot of these issues. How? this is why I aimed to write this post ;).

TALK TO SOMEONE AND AKS FOR HELP

A lot of international students are isolated and don't talk about their problems with anyone. Some feel that it's a weakness or shame to say "I have a problem", but who doesn't?! Take a look around, we're all struggling and dealing with problems every day. It's natural to have problems and talk about it. Don't bottle up and get things out of your chest. If you don't feel comfortable sharing with people you know, go to your school counsellors and open up to a professional in a safe and non-judgmental place. It works, I did it as a student in the first year and now I'm helping other international students and I see the difference everyday.

MANAGE YOUR EXPECTATIONS

You don't have to reach all of your goals and dreams in the first year. You're not a local student and comparing yourself with them doesn't hide the fact that you just started your new life from scratch here. So be kind and realistic. This journey is hard and it leads you to growth, but not immediately. You need time to adjust, maybe a year or maybe more, but it happens if you work through it with patience and staying hopeful.

VISUALIZE YOUR NEXT VERSION

Sometimes we're so obsessed with the current version of ourselves that we forget we can be better in the future. Your next two-year version can be completely different from who you are now. Don't stick to this version and visualize your future version. Picture what you want to see and write down its quality. What you want to know, do, be in the next two years. Be optimistic and a bit ambitious, just writing something down what you want to be doesn't hurt, but helps a lot. Have this picture in your head when you choked in a presentation or failed an exam, Don't be obsessed with your failures, you have a future self that is waiting for you.