Do you guys feel particularly anxious when you are around foreigners or in a foreign country?

Alex · Jul 26, 2016

Not really any more than strangers, but I am used to traveling alone. I can imagine the first time is hard, but because I am first generation in the UK I have been brought up understanding more than one culture.

I think when you are in any unfamiliar environment it can be uncomfortable and if you don't speak the language either.

Sue · Jul 26, 2016

The only thing about being around people from another country that makes me anxious is that I am afraid the I won't understand what they are saying. I hate asking people to repeat themselves especially if I don't get it after they say it twice. I concentrate so hard on trying to understand them that it makes me anxious and then it makes it harder to understand. I am not very good with accents.

Jemina · Jul 27, 2016

I'm fine being around people that are foreign and in fact probably 60% of the people I do talk to regularly aren't from my country originally - most are from Europe somewhere. However, I do find certain accents really hard to understand. I really struggle with the Filipino accent in particular, and find that the Filipinos I talk to regularly speak really, really quickly, which makes me struggle to understand them. That's the only part that tends to make me anxious though.

lexinonomous · Jul 27, 2016

This makes me feel terrible, but yes. I am not anxious around foreigners because I feel like I'm in any particular danger, but more so because I feel as if they are judging me. When people come from different countries, they expect different actions from others. They are used to a completely different culture and that culture may not involve the way that I'm acting. I always feel as if I'm going to offend someone due to the way I'm acting. I will twiddle my thumbs and pretend no one is around me when it comes to being around foreign people.

Honestly, I tend to laugh at people's accents as well....which makes for a really awkward situation. I try to avoid people with thick accents because I have no filter. I will laugh hysterically, which in turn makes me anxious because I feel terrible. It's a nonstop whirlwind when it comes to me being around people that are not from America.

ReadmeByAmy · Jul 28, 2016

I am married to a foreign man and when I migrated already in their country this is the feeling that I first had when I came here. I am very anxious to go out because I am afraid someone will talk to me and I still don't know their language only the basic words and phrases. I cannot go alone to go the mall or the supermarket to do the groceries and I still have to wait for my husband to go home from work before I go outside of the house. I still have no friends all are foreign people until I met two women same as my nationality who are also living in the same street that I lived. That is why I am so lucky and my anxiousness had lessened. I already had friends and they are nice to me. We always go out together and we study together their language which is a free schooling for all the migrants wife living in this country. Now I am comfortable already talking to them because at l knew already how to communicate with them and I am not afraid anymore.

abonnen · Jul 30, 2016

The only thing I feel uncomfortable about in foreign countries is not knowing where I an going, but i feel that way now where I live. I live in South Korea for 3 years and felt pretty comfortable living there except when we drove places, and didn't really know where we were going. I am not uncomfortable around foreign people at all, I think it is becasue I have traveled and becasue I am only nervous around people I get bad vibes off of.

Corzhens · Jul 30, 2016

When there are foreigner guests in the office, not only me but most of my colleagues are also anxious because we have to speak in straight English.You see, writing in English is different from speaking especially when there are many people around. I really can't say why I get tongue-tied when I have to speak to foreigners in the office. But when I am in a foreign country, I speak English very well and I can talk to anyone there (in that country). Maybe the orientation for us is to speak English only in school, well, I really cannot say why most of us are anxious when it comes to speaking straight English in the office. But at home, I don't have difficulty speaking in English. I really wonder.

amy88 · Jul 30, 2016

Oddly I almost feel more comfortable around people when I cant understand them. If we can't communicate, there's not that pressure that we should be communicating - whereas here at home I feel like everyone expects you to make small talk and things like that, which I suck at.

I've been to a few countries and have found that despite the flying and airports, overall I've felt less anxious rather than more anxious.

pwarbi · Jul 30, 2016

I wouldn't say that my anxiety is any more when I'm in a foreign country, and I wouldn't put it down to the culture even if it as but it's probably more to do with the fact you are out of your comfort zone full stop. Anxiety is often at it's worst in people when they are doing, or planning on doing something that isn't part of their normal routine, and sometimes even just going on vacation or doing something that's supposed to help you relax can cause even more issues unfortunately.

When I was particularly anxious a few years ago, I didn't go on vacation for a number of years, and that wasn't because I was afraid to go to a different country or be surrounded by different people, that was just simply because I needed to be surrounded by familiar people and places for me to have any form of comfort.

fuzyon · Jul 30, 2016

Sometimes, but only foreigners that I can't talk to. I would feel just fine being around people that speak English (I'm Romanian) but put me in a room with Germans and I will start to panic a little. I would be scared because if something were to happen to me I wouldn't be able to communicate properly, but I wouldn't have too many issues otherwise. The only thing that gives me a little bit of anxiety is getting lost in a foreign country, I would have trouble finding my way back.

djordjem87 · Aug 1, 2016

I actually feel much better when I am surrounded by foreigners and especially in some foreign country. That means I am not in Serbia so either i am working somewhere for some descent money or I am on a holiday and no Serbs around me. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends but not all of them are like my friends. It is hard to stay in love to something that is making you miserable and all of those people who are pro-western now and just translate stupid motivational phrases to make you feel worse than you really are. "It's not the fault of the society, it is you who choose and you have to work and fight for your happiness." Piss off, I have been working 10 jobs in one year. I was a cook, a clerk, entertainer for kids, waiter, bartender ... I didn't get 50 percent of my wages from that period and my country is protecting those owners but never workers.

pwarbi · Aug 1, 2016

I have been around multiple cultures for a long time so I've sort of gotten over that to some extent. But yes I totally understand that being in a foreign country and having to get used to so many new sights and smells and sounds can be so overwhelming for someone who suffers from anxiety.

For a lot of people suffering from anxiety, just getting through their everyday normal routine can be daunting, and that's even without introducing them to new and different cultures. Routine can be the only thing that gets people through the day, but also at the same time it can be your worst enemy. While you may feel able to cope when you are in your usual environment, at the same time the fear of doing something new can also stop you from trying different things, and sometimes the only way to recover from anxiety is to pull yourself out of that comfort zone you are in as it's only then that you start to realise that the fear you have is unfounded.

MellowCat · Aug 1, 2016

This is a confusing issue for me because while i love to travel, I spent a good deal of time far away from home surrounded by people who did not like me. That gave me a strong sense of patriotism when I got back, and now I do not feel like leaving the country for some time. The idea of getting on a plane right now does seem scary because it would remind me of going back where I was and how I could not afford to get home. However, I do not feel anxious around foreigners.

I would like to get to a place where I feel comfortable traveling again, though. It is something that intrigues me and I have always wanted to see as much of the world as possible. But for right now, I can't, and I am happy to be at home appreciating what and who I have.

MissTea · Aug 3, 2016

Normally I don't mind it being around foreigners or being in a foreign country, but I do get just a little anxious when people start talking in a foreign language around me and I"m the only one who doesn't understand what is being said. That does bother me a little.

Do you guys feel particularly anxious when you are around foreigners or in a foreign country?

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