Managing Mental Health While Studying Abroad

When I arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark I had a jumble of emotions brewing inside me. I was obviously ecstatic that I was in another country and relieved that I had made it to Denmark in one piece, but I was also very anxious and overstimulated.

My first week in Copenhagen was probably my toughest. The time change really affected me and I was more homesick than I thought I would be. My roommate was nice, but not someone I would end up hanging out with 24/7. Our apartment was also very small, and we shared a tiny bedroom for the first few weeks until we moved my bed into the living room, so there was basically no privacy.

Luckily, I made friends fast and realized they were in the same boat as me. We all agreed that our mental health was our #1 priority, and that we would be there to support each other as best we could. We thankfully started to adjust to Danish culture quickly and ended up having the best times of our lives. That being said, there were definitely challenges along the way...

Right off the bat (like two weeks after we arrived) we started traveling. My first trip was to Milan, Italy with a few of my friends.

A perk of traveling in Europe is that plane tickets are usually insanely cheaper (especially if you fly with Ryanair). We took advantage of this and tried to travel to other countries whenever we could.

Traveling helped me gain appreciation for how unique each culture is and how kind strangers can be. We arrived in Milan around 12am, but didn't want to go to bed because we were staying less than 48 hours. We decided to drop our bags off at our hostel and explore the city. About 15 min after we left our hostel we realized we were starving so we stopped at a McDonalds. Somehow at this McDonalds we made friends with a group of Italian guys and ended up hanging out with them a decent amount of our trip. It wasn't until then I realized how easy it is to make friends with strangers in countries and how fun it is to talk to people with different backgrounds/cultures. My friends and I still keep in touch with some of the guys too, and we hope to go back and visit them at some point :)

Besides traveling on weekends you travelled twice with your core course - your main course that's usually related to your major. My core course went to Aarhus, Denmark for our first trip, and then London later in the semester.

All this traveling was super fun, but also extremely exhausting. My friends and I realized that we didn't want to travel every weekend so we could enjoy Copenhagen, as well as rest, save money, and maintain our mental health.

The idea of maintaining mental health abroad wasn't talked about enough within our program's community and even at Denison before we left.

We knew homesickness and culture shock would be a challenge, but there were many other little things that contributed to a decline in our mental health, for example the idea of having to do/see everything while you're abroad.

My friends and I realized early on that we could not travel everywhere or even see everything in Copenhagen in our 4 months abroad.

We were students going to classes and living in another country, not vacationing. We had homework, apartments to clean, groceries to buy, and relationships abroad/home that we had to keep up with. The struggle of being outsiders in another country made a lot of these tasks considerably more challenging, and resulted in exhaustion and irritability.

My friends and I had different coping mechanisms to help us maintain our mental and physical health. Personally I would take naps or meditate during the day when I felt overwhelmed and exhausted. These activities allowed me to check in with my mind and body, as well as allowed me to rest. I also took advantage of how walkable a city Copenhagen was, and went on daily walks with my friends. I realized being outdoors and moving helped improve my mental health a lot. Some of my friends would go on bike rides by themselves, go shopping, Facetime their families, talk to a therapist, or go to the gym everyday to help maintain their mental health.

I think it's important to have a game plan of how you're going to take care of yourself before you go abroad. If you're on medication make sure you have enough to last you abroad, or know who to contact if you need more. If you need access to a therapist, make sure you know where to find one and if your insurance accepts them. Also find things you enjoy that are good for you mentally and physically, like taking a walk or reading a book. This plan will help you in the long run and you won't spiral when you start to feel down or out of it.

Studying abroad was the best experience of my life. If I could go back I would in a heartbeat. That being said, I had somewhat of a plan for my mental health before I left which really helped me relax and enjoy my time more. I also recognized things that were draining me abroad, for example traveling every weekend, and modified them if possible.

I wouldn't have reached out to strangers in Italy or made the life long friends I did if I hadn't taken care of myself. So for everyone going abroad... yes, this will be the best time of your life, but also a very challenging time. Make sure you have the tools to do deal with the challenges ahead :) It is normal to have off days and you do not have to travel every weekend or see every touristy thing to have a great experience abroad.