How I Navigated Study Abroad as a Person with Anxiety

Studying abroad is no easy task, especially for those that may struggle with general anxiety. It’s an amazing adventure, but it’s one that requires you to jump outside of your comfort zone almost every day, at least in the beginning. This is something that is extremely challenging for anxious people like myself. It’s scary having to leave the comfort of your home friend group, your family, and the familiarity of your home school.

Traveling abroad all on your own, you have to meet so many new people, make completely new friends, and maybe even figure out how to live alongside a new family. These aspects of study abroad can make or break the whole experience. Going into this new experience, I was honestly horrified. Part of me wanted to back out, but I knew I had to do it or else I would regret it for the rest of my life. This was my way of breaking out of the box I placed myself in due to my fears.

My biggest fear was not making friends, that I would keep to myself as always and stay in the shadows of the group I was going abroad with. Another fear was that I wouldn’t take advantage of my new location, not branching out and exploring. New experiences have always been hard for me.

The unknown is scary for many people, and the fear of it can sometimes hold us back from possible experiences that could change our lives. I didn’t want my fears to hold me back. I was determined to make the most of studying abroad without my anxiety restraining me. I would like to share some tips that I found helped me break out of my shell, allowing me to have more fun and experience more things.

1. Take advantage of your common interests through your classes

Once you arrive at your new location, the first thing most people will try to do is make friends. This can be quite intimidating to do for some. Based on my experience, there’s a good chance you will get the opportunity to talk to a lot of people since they’re all looking for new friends. Even so, it can be hard to form connections. This leads to my first tip. Take advantage of your common interests through your classes.

Since you and your classmates most likely all chose your classes yourselves, that means there’s a good chance there are some common interests. There might even be similarities in majors. Start off by talking about topics to do with the class material, or anything related. This can form baseline relationships with people. It can familiarize you with the people around you that you will be spending potentially the next few months with. You might even click with some of them, being able to move past small talk to stronger topics.

2. Explore with friends

Getting to know your peers might prove to be a difficult challenge. I personally found it hard to find time before, during, or after class to talk to my classmates. By far the best way I got to know my new friends was by exploring the city with them. Maybe there’s this restaurant you passed by walking to school, why not ask some classmates to go to lunch there with you? There could possibly be some museums or historical monuments that you want to visit during your time abroad. Ask some peers if they’d like to come with you!

There doesn’t necessarily have to be some exciting place to go to, maybe you would just like to wander the area and explore. Do it with some friends! (Travelling around in numbers is usually safer anyway.) Having a foundation for hanging out with people makes getting to know them all the more easier. There’s less room for awkward silences, as well as an established topic to talk about, especially if you're visiting a museum or something similar.

3. Start small by traveling with others

It can be scary being in a completely new place all on your own. You might find yourself wanting to stay at home as much as possible. My tip for this problem relates to my previous one. Start small by travelling around with others! Personally, I find it less scary going to new places with other people. It can break the ice in terms of your familiarity with your new location and can build your confidence in going to new places. One of my goals during the semester abroad was to become more confident in my independence. Going around the city with friends first definitely helped build my courage. I finally forced myself to go to new places on my own, and I found that it wasn’t so bad after I broke that initial barrier.

4. Take time to rest!

My final tip is arguably the most important one. Take time to rest! Sometimes during my time abroad, it felt like I never got a break. I was constantly running around and doing things. I had school work, classes, field trips, personal trips, etc. This in and of itself built up a lot of anxious feelings, with my mind racing all over the place constantly. The only thing I found that helped calm me down when I found myself tipping over the edge was taking time to myself to rest and recuperate. Read a good book, journal, watch your favorite show, watch a movie with some home friends online, or even just take a nap! These down time moments are precious while you are abroad because I personally found that I did not get a lot of them.

Make sure you set time aside for yourself to relax, it is extremely important. These tips helped me greatly during my time abroad and helped me move past my anxiety surrounding my new experiences. Forcing myself out of my comfort zone was very difficult, but it proved to be incredibly worth it. I made a lot of new friends and visited a lot of new places inside and outside of the city I was studying in.

This is an experience I will never forget and I am eternally grateful I had the courage to do it. And remember, if you decide to study abroad, give yourself some credit. It is no easy feat. You got yourself there and had the bravery to do it. You are not your anxiety, don’t let it hold you back. Have fun traveling!

Blog by Sam Graves, University of Maine - Orono, Semester in Costa Rica