re-entry after adventure

Re-entry is what happens when an adventurer has returned from a long trip or expedition where they’ve been immersed in a different culture, been offline for an extended period of time, or in the remote backcountry for weeks.

Re-entry is the process of re-acclimating and processing an experience and the emotions that go along with it after an adventure or big expedition.

Think climbing Kilimanjaro or hiking the Inca trial to Maccu Piccu. Or traveling (or living) for an extended period of time internationally.

There’s a lot of support for the pre-trip preparations (what should you pack, what shots do you need, how should you train), but there’s virtually no support when you get back. And if you’ve had a powerful experience that feels life-changing, re-entry can be unsettling, to say the least.

If you’ve been on a trip like this (or are planning one), do any of these statements ring true?

• You feel disconnected to the person you were when you left.
• You have trouble articulating the enormity of the experience, so you settle for, “it was really amazing” when others ask you about it.
• You feel depressed or withdrawn from others or your daily life.
• You have found a strength and conviction within yourself you’d never realized, but don’t know how to apply it to your daily life (and it doesn’t make it easier that everyone around you expects you to be the same woman you were before you left).
• You seek out deeper, more meaningful conversations with friends or colleagues and are met with blank stares or change of topics.
• You feel isolated and alone.
• You are charged with excitement and motivation to make a difference or find deeper meaning in life, but don’t know where to begin or what that would look like.
• Prior to the trip, you were feeling restless and sensed that a big change was coming. Now you’re contemplating leaving your husband, your job or picking up and moving across the country.

integrate the new you with the old

Powerful, transformative or life-changing experiences mostly happen internally—in how we see the world or how we see ourselves—and it can be hard to integrate these changes into the life we were leading before the experience.

How do we explain it to our colleagues? Our family? How do we harness the excitement and new-found strength within us, and take action?

I’d like to help.

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If you’re ready to hire me, see my life coaching packages for more details and information on my rates and package offers. Or you can contact me directly.