Jacqueline Addo remembers when her husband Joshua confided two years ago that the stress of adjusting to life in Canada from Ghana was too much to bear.
He was at breaking point and her own mental state wasn't very good either.
“Basically, I was just a shadow of myself,” she said.
Joshua was struggling to find work in his field as a financial advisor and instead worked for a delivery company and Costco.
With Jacqueline taking care of the children, they were unable to survive on one paycheck and had to borrow money from family and friends every month to survive.
Now that Joshua has a management job with the Nova Scotia Power Company, the couple can finally rest a little and plan for the future, but not all immigrants are equally successful.
Experts say the stress caused by the disruption of moving to a new country, and the often wide gulf between immigrants' expectations of life in Canada and the reality, can lead to depression, frustration and low self-esteem. It may lead to loss. .
the study Released in December Canadian Mental Health Research found that people born in Canada are almost twice as likely to express concerns about feeding their families compared to people born in Canada.
The report said food insecurity and isolation from support networks of family and friends are linked to higher rates of mental health problems.
In 2022, 437,000 immigrants immigrate to Canada.record 12,500 of them arrived A province-commissioned study shows people coming to Nova Scotia are the number of people Ottawa wants to attract, and that number could rise. 500,000 newcomers per year By 2026.
Acculturation stress
Iqbal Chaudhry is a PhD candidate at Dalhousie University whose doctoral research focuses on the mental health of immigrants to Canada.
Chaudhry, who is originally from Bangladesh, said research shows immigrants tend to have better mental health than Canadian-born immigrants.
According to other studies, People who successfully navigate Canada's immigration system, especially those from economic classes, are well-educated, slightly younger than the average Canadian, and are healthier because they are required to undergo medical examinations.
But over time, immigrants' mental health deteriorates until it matches that of the general population, he said. This phenomenon is explained as the health immigrant effect, or the immigrant paradox. One potential cause, he said, is the stress associated with the acculturation process.
Iqbal Chaudhry is a doctoral candidate at Dalhousie University conducting his doctoral research on the mental health of immigrants to Canada. (Ira Clark)
The other is a decline in self-worth. As part of the immigration process, people are considered based on their training and work history in their country of origin and are expected to work in similar jobs in Canada, Chaudhry said.
But once they arrive, he says, it's often very difficult to leverage their previous experience and education.
“It's really affecting their aspirations and self-esteem, and it's also preventing them from building social networks with the Canadian community,” he says.
“When they can't find a job in the labor market, they find it a kind of shame to share it with their people back home and with the community living in Canada.”
Mr Chaudhry said mental health is one of the key determinants of socio-economic development and progress. If Canada wants to build a future generation of productive immigrants, it's important to study the issues immigrants face and carefully consider the resources available to improve their mental health, he said. Stated.
career setback
The Conference Board of Canada noted that it can take years for immigrants to climb the career ladder again. In a report published in September.
“While the fairy tale of Canada as a land of opportunity remains for many new entrants, this research shows growing disillusionment,” Conference Board CEO Daniel Bernhardt said in the report. “It shows that we are doing well,” he said.
“More and more immigrants are saying 'no thanks' and moving on after giving Canada a try.”
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said in a statement that it is providing preventive, non-clinical mental health support to new arrivals through third-party payment providers.
The company is also partnering with the Canadian Mental Health Association and the Center for Addiction and Mental Health to help address the mental health needs of newcomers, the statement said.
can't find a suitable job
According to the conference committee's report, nearly 15 per cent of immigrants left Canada within 15 years of becoming permanent residents. But currently, for people who want to move elsewhere, the process of uprooting again is not a viable option, especially when they are older.
Manmeet Oberoi and Randeep Oberoi sold everything they owned and emigrated from the Indian state of Punjab with their two children in 2018.
The couple, both in their 50s, have graduate degrees from universities in India.
Manmeet was the principal of a college of education and Randeep was a credit manager in a bank.
Manmeet earned her Nova Scotia teaching certificate and is currently working as a substitute teacher, but has not been able to find regular employment.
Manmeet Oberoi and Randeep Oberoi immigrated to Halifax from India in 2018. (Gagan Oberoi)
Despite taking several banking courses since his arrival, Randeep says he is still unemployed.
He said he expects it will take some time to find permanent employment, perhaps up to two years.
Although the couple are now Canadian citizens, Randeep said he still doesn't know how to break into the job market.
Manmeet said the experience was especially frustrating because she loves teaching and has a wealth of professional skills.
symptoms of stress
Carmen Selina Moncayo, a supervisor with the Nova Scotia Immigration Services Association and a trained psychologist, said the stress caused by the immigrant experience can manifest in many ways.
“People can develop depression, people can develop anxiety, people can have problems sleeping and eating. [problems]it’s frustrating,” she said.
“Distrust in ourselves, distrust in our environment… all the ways our bodies reflect stress.”
Moncayo, who is originally from Colombia, said her association teaches people that what they are experiencing is a completely normal reaction to feeling uprooted.
After living in Nova Scotia for more than five years, Manmeet Oberoi is wondering if he made the right decision to move here.
“It’s very, very stressful,” she said.
“Sometimes I don't know how to survive here, because if there are no jobs here, why do so many people come here?”
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