7 Best Ways To Deal With Japa Loneliness And Live A Balanced Life In A New Country

To japa dey easy but the japa loneliness that can hit after relocating is not talked about enough. Make loneliness no come kill person for house.

One of the things that they don’t tell you about is the loneliness that comes with moving to a new place, not knowing anybody and how removed from everything that is familiar to you that can make you feel. If you make the move alone and relocate to a country where you have no relatives, no family and friends, it can be even harder.

A lot of Nigerians and not just Nigerians but people who have migrated and relocated to other countries talk about the gripping loneliness that you can experience when you move. It’s a whole new country, a whole new city, A whole new set of people, a whole new culture, and a whole new type of food. It can be very jarring and very lonely as you try to find your footing.

Sometimes it doesn’t even matter what you’re moving for whether to seek a better life, whether you relocated because of better job and career opportunities or to further your education, it can still get really lonely and this loneliness can be a crushing emotional weight that can affect different aspects of your life.

The unfamiliarity of your new home can be a lot, making you feel cut off from all that you are used to, your social life, your favourite spots, your favourite food, and so much more. You don’t have the support system that you’re used to anymore, you don’t have the community that you grew up in or that you’re used to and the shock of the new culture can also be very jarring.

There are things that you can do and ways to combat the loneliness that can come with relocating and moving to a new place.

How To Combat Loneliness After Relocation 

 Stay Connected 

Just because you have moved to another country does not mean that you completely shut yourself off from what you know and what you are used to. It is important to keep in touch with your friends family and acquaintances. We live in a world where technology has made things a lot easier.

You can text, and connect via social media apps like WhatsApp, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and email and also via video calls with apps like zoom, Skype, Google meets, and so on. It is important that you maintain your friendships and treat them as something that you would always have in your life distance notwithstanding. You need to work on staying in touch, putting the time and energy into your long-distance friendship and maintaining it.

Join A Community

One of the ways to combat Japa loneliness is to find a community in your new city to be a part of. There are so many social and cultural communities that you can be a part of. For example, Ethnic communities like the Igbo and Yoruba communities.

I know that there is a lot of Igbo associations and more in different cities, you could join a painting community, farming communities, business communities, and so on. The truth is there are so many communities that you can find and belong to when you move to a new country.

Pick A New Hobby

If you move to a new country you can also try picking up a new hobby that brings you in contact with other people. This can help with the japa loneliness. You could try for a weekly painting class where you get to meet other painters, same goes for a drawing class, you could join the gym in your neighbourhood, you could go to the park, you could join a cooking class, a knitting class, an instrument learning class, dancing class, the list is endless of the new hobbies that you can pick up that would bring you in contacts with new people that could become friends.

You can always just google “baking class near me” and check out centres close to you.

Join A Religious Community 

 If you are the religious type, one of the ways that you can deal with the japa loneliness is to join a religious community. If you’re a Christian you could find the closest worship centre to you and join. You might have to attend a few times to see if the way they worship is one that works for you and if it does you can choose to stay and become a part of that community. This will take you out of your house once or twice a week and bring you in contact with people.

 Building Your Own Community 

 When you move to a new country it is important that you make the effort to get to know the people around you which includes your neighbour. You might not generally enjoy putting yourself out there and making friends but it is important about you actually make the effort and be on friendly terms with your neighbours. It helps a long way with the japa loneliness that can come on with relocation.

One of the ways you can do this is to stop by and introduce yourself to your new neighbours, you could also lead to party to get to know your neighbours, be friendly and open to conversation, and so on. 

Make School And Work Friends

Depending on the reason for your relocation whether it is for work and career opportunities or for education, you are already at an advantage because you have coworkers and colleagues that you can start building that community with and make friends. Join clubs in your school, take part in extracurricular activities, talk to your coworkers, and at work join your colleagues for after-work dinner or drinks, join them for fun after-work activities and open yourself up to making friends to help deal with Japa loneliness. 

Volunteer 

 One of the ways to feel good about yourself is to help people and put smiles on their faces. Donating your time to worthy causes and your new community will go a long way in alleviating your japa loneliness. You can volunteer at the local women’s centre, Non-governmental organisations, etc.