All immigrants have experienced a “sadness” that should not be confused with Ulysses syndrome, “a condition that affects people who leave their country of origin in search of new opportunities in a new place and in that experience they exhibit symptoms such as anxiety and depression”.

Psychotherapist Liliana Wolf, interviewed at Univisión, emphasizes that this syndrome is experienced by some immigrants when they leave their family, friends, customs, etc.

The psychiatrist Joseba Achotegui, as they point out in Ayuda en Acción, was the one who gave the name to the Ulysses syndrome. This specialist indicated that this is a syndrome feed: the forced separation, the fear of losing your life along the way, the struggle to eat every day, the threats from the mafia.

On that site they remember that “in the life of someone who emigrates, everything changes suddenly and the change becomes greater the further away he goes. You not only leave behind friends or family, but also the landscape, the smells, the language, the customs.”

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Migrants rest in tents at the Juventud 2000 reception center in Tijuana, Baja California (Mexico). Photo: EFE/Joebeth Terriquez

How to detect Ulysses syndrome in immigrants

Be alert to the symptoms:

Not finding a job affects your mood.

Just like encountering difficult rejection situations.

Feeling that you cannot adapt to the new circumstances around you.

Because they were somehow forced to leave their country.

Avoid isolation

The person with Ulysses Syndrome does not feel included in the community and an isolation develops which is even more damaging.

It’s normal to feel sad, Wolf says, “but when you isolate yourself, you don’t connect with your environment, you remain alone with your thoughts and unfortunately they are often negative.”

Get help or let us help if, in addition to insulation, you have:

The psychotherapist’s advice is:connect!

Wolf emphasizes that “humans are born to connect and that is where their redemption will be.”

The specialist invites: “Knock on the door, seek help, get closer to the Church, to the Latin American/Latino community and you will be able to get the support you so desperately need. By listening to others who have been through the same situation as you, you will find tools to get out of that situation.”

(JO)