A people’s culture is their entire design for living, passed on from one generation to another through learning. All of us, to some extent, take for granted the cultural practices of our society. In fact, the human brain is actually wired to anticipate a certain amount of social and environmental continuity. This continuity allows us to put some of our regular activities on automatic pilot. Even highly skilled activities like driving can be turned over to the manager within. This is how you are able to drive your regular route home or to the office, and not actually remember a mile or two of the drive.

Culture Shock can be defined as the collection of symptoms that can manifest when an individual is immersed in an unfamiliar culture. These symptoms include disorientation, uncertainty, social displacement, anxiety, and fear. Each of these symptoms represents a stressor that in turn can lead to all of the stress response symptoms that we’ve discussed on our web site and in other Newsletter articles.

 

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