Why being the expat partner makes such a difference and what extra challenges the accompanying expat partner faces.
These challenges can lead to a loss of confidence and a rapidly disappearing self-identity.
To start with, we get labelled as ‘the trailing spouse’… We don’t like that. Our identity is immediately stripped from us and we are given a demeaning and disempowering label. We are so much more than a label.
However, some communities consider the label itself to be the sole cause of an expat partner’s dissatisfaction and spend hours choosing alternatives which simply compounds the issue. Because this means the actual issues are being brushed under the carpet and ignored. Deflecting away from solving the problem by focusing on the wrong thing altogether.
Our lost confidence and ultimately potential mental health issues aren’t caused by a label used by companies or individuals. Potential problems in self-identity and general upheaval and expat life are caused by a lack of genuine and experienced support.
In this episode I dive into self-confidence issues, self-identity and dependence; working through to discover how to retrieve your self-confidence, find yourself, reclaim your identity, and protect your independence.
Many expat partners say that as soon as they take complete ownership for their own happiness and stop relying on each other that they really start to be happy.