The “Reverse Culture Shock” Phenomenon: Why Returning Home Feels Strange After Traveling 

Travel, particularly deep immersion in foreign cultures, has long been hailed as an experience that can change your life. It broadens our horizons, encourages us to challenge our preconceptions, and teaches us to stay open-minded and adaptable. But in the case of them going home, it could be different – when candidates return to their own country, they experience an unprecedented break, known as reverse culture shock.

Not nearly as celebrated as its counterpart – culture shock – it is a phenomenon that, though disruptive and problematic, just doesn’t get the ink and airtime that it’s better-known sibling does: culture shock is all over the place, while culture fatigue is the quieter phenomenon that you need a little extra effort to spot. Reverse culture shock is most often described as a convergence of psychological, sociological, and cultural forces that drive them to reintegrate into a familiar, yet transformed, setting. 

Defining Reverse Culture Shock 

Reverse culture shock is essentially the emotional and psychological struggles that accompany a re-entry into your home culture after an extended period in the outside world. First proposed in the mid-20th century by anthropologists like Kalervo Oberg (1960), culture shock. Reverse culture shock, as opposed to culture shock, occurs when you are placed in an unfamiliar cultural milieu rather than entering it. This paradox – becoming an outsider in one’s own native land – makes it a peculiar phenomenon. Building on Oberg’s findings, scholars (Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1963) have proposed a W-curve as an extension of the U-curve model, acknowledging the non-linear complexity of reintegration, following the adjustment to a new culture, and the reverse model upon return. 

Causes of Reverse Culture Shock 

The etiology of reverse culture shock encompasses shifts in one’s perspectives, worldviews, attitudes, and relationships. 

1. Personal Transformation 

Long travel usually transforms a person’s identity, values, and worldview. Being exposed to different cultural standards, be it through language, food, or ways of living, can help internalize new ways of behaving and thinking. Take a traveler who has spent so long in the collectivist mindset of East Asian societies that returning to Western cultures, which are predicated on individualism, feels disorienting. This internal change creates a dissonance with the home environment, which remains frozen in the traveler’s absence. As Adler (1975) argues that such transformations can turn returnees into ‘strangers in their land’, no longer comfortable with their daily environment or with their pre-travel alter egos. 

2. Changes in the Home Environment 

When abroad, to be sure, one tends to romanticize one’s own country as somehow permanent, immutable, unchanging. But time changes all contexts. Friends and family grow apart, societal trends wane, and even physical geography is adjusted by urban renewal or economic decline. When we return, these quiet or bold changes can unsettle the expected sense of familiarity. A returnee might find that their peers have moved on to careers, relationships, or other markers that are further down the life course, resulting in a relational gap that compounds the feeling of isolation. 

3. Expectation-Reality Discrepancy 

Returnees tend to have unrealistic expectations when it comes to reintegration, believing it will be smooth sailing because by returning home, they are already familiar with the home culture. Such thinking also underestimates the psychological recalibration that comes after an extended period of absence. Disillusionment then ensues when reality does not compute with these expectations, whether it be through a lack of social connection or a perceived lack of interest in their experiences, with Gaw (2000) stating that reality not meeting expectations is a major cause of reverse culture shock when home seems less inviting than travelers thought it would be. 

Stages of Reverse Culture Shock 

Reverse culture shock is a phenomenon that involves four distinct stages. The W-curve model (Gullahorn & Gullahorn, 1963) provides the framework for understanding this phenomenon, unfolding the key phases: honeymoon, crisis, recovery, and adjustment. 

1. Honeymoon Phase 

Back when you’re done, people often soar up a flight of euphoria and relief that will eventually wane. Familiar places, sounds, and routines all serve to nostalgia, while the comfort of home pushes any discomfort of change temporarily away. A case in point: a traveler returning to their native language might enjoy their ease of communication after months of elimination by naysayers. 

2. Crisis Phase

As the name suggests, this stage is fueled by feelings of irritability and frustration. The realities of the stark differences between home culture and adopted culture start coming to the surface, making returnees feel alienated. Common complaints include frustration with cultural norms, lack of interest in travel anecdotes, or superficial nature of conversations. Feelings of alienation, irritability, frustration, and longing for the adopted culture mark this stage. 

3. Recovery Phase 

As the returnees begin to reconcile their dual identities, perspectives, and cultures, the recovery phase begins. By integrating experiences from cultures abroad into their daily lives, returnees find ways to cope. Feelings of alienation and frustration simmer down, leading to the development of feelings of contentment. Coping mechanisms mark the essence of this stage as they help in moving towards the home culture. 

4. Adjustment Phase 

The last stage is marked by the restoration of equipoise. Returnees accept that their native culture has some limitations while acknowledging the growth gained from foreign culture. Frustration, alienation, and irritability have been eviscerated, and the feeling of contentment prevails. They develop a refined appreciation for both cultures, allowing for a smooth blend of the best of both cultures. 

Psychological and Sociological Implications 

The psychological implication of reverse culture shock consists of recurring feelings of irritability, depression, anxiety, loneliness, and identity confusion. Having strong and supportive social support during these times prevents these feelings from worsening. Studies by Ward, Bochner, and Furnham (2001) suggest that the intensity of reverse culture shock is directly proportional to the duration of time spent abroad and the depth of immersion in foreign culture. This means that higher immersion in foreign cultures makes it more difficult to readjust to one’s original culture. 

The sociological implication brings with it a disruption in interpersonal dynamics. Family members find it difficult to relate to altered perspectives leading to a distance between the returnee and his family. This feeling of being distant creates a sense of disconnectedness and otherness, as the returnees can neither adjust to their native culture fully nor return to the adopted culture. Returnees feel they do not belong to their original culture as no one can relate to their experiences and altered perspectives. 

Coping Strategies and Mitigation 

• Pre-Return Preparation: Thinking and reflecting on how engaging in a new culture can affect one’s expectations can help in preventing reverse culture shock. Joining educational programs that guide in readjustment to native culture or associating with other returnees having similar experiences can help in setting realistic expectations. 
• Social Support: Having a social support network is essential in times of identity confusion and disconnectedness from surroundings. Engaging with others who have had similar experiences will be useful in gaining validation from somewhere, thereby reducing loneliness. Counseling sessions can also serve as some form of support for people finding it difficult to readjust to their native culture. 
• Narrative Sharing: Reflecting on one’s experiences in a new culture through self-reports like journaling or diary entries can help. Returnees can also make use of their creative side through art or writing to process the changes and transitions. 
• Gradual Reintegration: It is better to take things slow instead of trying to rush into the readjustment. Allowing oneself to take time while processing one’s emotions, thoughts and feelings will help in readjusting better and with ease. 

Conclusion 

Reverse culture shock highlights the malleability of identity in a world that is becoming more globalized. But as travel and cross-cultural exchange become easier and more ubiquitous, the phenomenon has begun to unravel traditional notions of “home” as a fixed and static anchor. It mirrors a wider societal tension between home and abroad, raising questions of how cultures adapt to those whose influence transcends them. Moreover, it emphasizes the necessity of cultural literacy — not just for traveling in foreign countries but to grasp the changes taking place in one’s society.

FAQs

Q. What are some symptoms of reverse culture shock?

A: Irritability, frustration, disconnectedness, boredom or dissatisfaction with life.

Q. How long does reverse culture shock last?

A: It can last for weeks or months and even years for some people. It depends on the individual, time spent away, and the difference between native and adapted culture.

Q. Does everyone experience reverse culture shock?

A: Not necessarily but it is common for people who have spent a long duration of time away from one’s culture or experienced growth there