There is a Vietnam case which is a particularly interesting study. Americans returning home after the war experienced a positive spike in their well-being and stopped using drugs altogether. 🤔
Hard to believe? No. Let me tell you my story, which is similar to this.
I am originally from the Philippines, and I met my now husband who is Australian, online. When we got engaged, I had to emigrate from the only place I knew and loved as home to immigrate to a new place that I can call my second home. 🤍
This was an especially difficult move, since I have never traveled to and stayed for a long time in any other country. I had to leave my whole family and my network of friends and relatives. I didn’t know anyone in Australia, let alone Perth. I was isolated in the most isolated city in the world. 😭
In the first few months, I suffered from depression. I smoked a lot, my appetite surged up and down, became overweight then obese, and became totally (emotionally and physically) shut down. I couldn’t even talk or communicate. To demonstrate how bad it was, my husband even had to take time off work for three months to care for me. 😪
We then got a psychiatrist to check on me, and I was prescribed medication. In the following months and years after, I began to acclimatise and settle in. I started to work, made friends, went out, and even became a part of a community through the Catholic church I attended. 🙏🏻
I also called home several times every single day, and went back home every six months or twice a year to be with my family again. And, this made the most significant difference. The fact that I had been put on medication was progress, but what did wonders to my mental health and state of mind was reconnecting and spending time again with my family. Just being able to kiss and hug my parents, siblings, nieces and nephews was pure ecstasy. Sharing jokes and having belly laughs, sharing stories, eating and drinking together, playing card games, and watching shows together, I realised, were some of what I missed most. My overall health improved, my “well-being” became just exactly that. My trauma? Gone. My appetite normalised, I started losing weight, even dropped the addictions. I kept in contact with friends too through social media. I constantly read updates on how everyone is. I even found some Filipino friends both in Perth and other states. Now, my husband and I ensure that we make the trip back home regularly, if not frequently. 🥰
Friends having a great time smiling and drinking coffee and juice in cafe
Happy, phone and big family on sofa in home for bonding, connection and love on weekend together. Laugh, cellphone and children with grandparents and parents in living room for development in house
Happy asian family spending time together at home