Culture Shock: A Personal Journey Through Loss

My Experience with Culture Shock

My experience with culture shock is far different than what one would expect from a freshman in college. My experience does not fit the mold of what someone would normally think of as culture shock. I have never struggled with the idea of adapting to a new environment, simply because moving place to place has been a constant factor in my life. My culture shock revolved around the idea of being subjected to a set of ideas that I had never been subjected to. My culture shock was experiencing the death of my father, and my mother being diagnosed with cancer in a span of two years. These events required me to grow up faster than I imagined I would ever have to. I have never had a hard time adapting to a new

During an evaluation at the age of 10 years old, I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Camilla Sutter and Thomas Reid determined that many of the children in their case study were not simply mourning, but rather battle a sickness of their own. Many of the children in this study were diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress disorder. “PTSD is a debilitating disorder characterized by symptoms of avoidance, re-experiencing, and physiological arousal related to a particular traumatic event or experience.” This diagnosis explained why many of the children in this case study developed such negative coping mechanisms. After my father’s death, I felt that nothing made sense. I never had any experiences with my father, and with his death any chances I had of forming a relationship with him were taken from

She would complain of stomach aches, and began to have trouble completing everyday task. Shortly after experiencing these symptoms, my mother was diagnosed with cervical cancer. This created a fear that I would lose both of my parents within the time span of two years. Being very young, I had no idea how to care for myself, or my ill mother. At this point in my life, I completely hit rock bottom. After my mother’s diagnosis, my household completely changed. I had to assume the role of the parent in order to make sure that my mother was properly taken care of. A journal study the behavior of children with ill parents began to notice the changes in roles in the households of these families as well. “Physical, mental, and emotional deterioration may compromise the ability of ill parents to reach out to their children. Disruptions in routines and role reallocations within the family are particularly disorienting to children given their exquisite reliance on predictability.” I was never very reliant on predictability given my living arrangements as a