I expected many things when moving to Myanmar, but depression was not one of them.
Prosper Abroad

I expected many things when moving to Myanmar, but depression was not one of them.

I have been an expat for all my professional life, having set up life in Germany, Sweden, New Zealand, and the UK. So, when my partner Tom asked me to move for his job, and to such an exciting country like Myanmar, I was "Hell, yes!". I was even positive when I quit my full-time job in London, energised to try freelance consulting for a change.

But as weeks pass by, my day frees up. Tom is at work all day. He got stuck in right away. I look at my calendar: no meetings, no phone calls, no e-mails - just all this time at my hand. As the free days turn into weeks, I cannot keep asking myself: Have I taken the right decision? What am I here for?

The self-deprecating and disempowering thoughts creep in. And stay. Until one day, I wake up with a lack of energy to even start my day. I realised that I needed to do something about this.

Mind you; I have attended all the preparatory courses Tom's employer provided. I thought I was prepared. But I was not ready for those feelings of not having my own 'thing', the isolation, not being understood. Everyone around me meant well when they talked up the good things. But that was not the situation I found myself in.

I was lucky to have had coaches in my life that I could reach out to. As a result, I put the support in place to make sense of this and my unique life path. 

The experience made me realise that I cannot be the only one going through this. There are likely others, who are facing the same. I connected with other expat partners. We realised that what we all wished we had was someone 'from the outside' to talk to, a structured way to work through the feelings and our own needs, and a community of people who understand.

Individuals and organisations focus disproportionally on the logistics and the practical elements of a relocation abroad. As a result, the personal and professional needs of the expat spouse are often neglected.

So, I founded Prosper Abroad, a service platform that supports expat partners to adapt and prosper abroad.

Prosper Abroad’s mission is that every expat spouse has the right personal and professional support - when they need it. It is a big one, I know, as expatriation is global, but we aim to make a difference one person at a time.

If you have read that far, I have a small request: 

  • If you know anyone – individual or organisation - who could benefit from knowing about this, please share it.  
  • If you work in global mobility/relocation, I would love to connect to discuss how we can cooperate.
  • If you have any thoughts/comments, please get in touch.

We are working on our event programme, so if you are interested, we'd love you to follow us on our Linkedin Page or just drop me a note.

Monika Vlasic Elofsson

Global Mobility Expert SKF Group

3 年

Hi Simone! I did not know this was what you’re working with! Really interesting! Send me amessage and describe the program. I’m working as Global Mobility Service Partner at SKF ??. Mach’s gut! ??

Jonathan Taylor-Cummings

Passionate about unlock High-Performing Teams through helping people learn to do Relationships well – at Work, at Home, and in Life! | Author | TEDx Speaker

3 年

Love the concept, Simone! As you rightly say, there's gotta be a whole load of expat partners going though similar experiences of questioning did they do the right thing. Will have a think about where I can share. Meanwhile keep up the great work. Rooting for you!

Natalie Bourke

People-centred policy design

3 年

A great concept Simone. We (unconsciously and consciously) tie ourselves so strongly to our “work identities” that a big shift like this can be incredibly unsettling. So happy for you in finding such a great future focus amidst it all! I wish you all the best ??!

Alex Simalabwi

Executive Secretary, CEO & Global Director; Continental Africa Water Investment Programe, Global Climate Resilience-GWPSA-Africa

3 年

Wow Wow Simone ! I had no idea this is what you were going through. Grateful that you found your ahaaa moment in the process. I happy to introduce you to a few colleagues in my international community of mobile professionals. Let’s connect

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