Infographic: What is the Ulysses Syndrome that Affects Migrants?

Every December 18, International Migrants Day is celebrated, a date that seeks to generate awareness and solidarity with migrants, whether they have decided to migrate voluntarily or forcibly. Likewise, the commemoration recalls the importance of giving guarantees to those who migrate and of generating strategies and public policies that protect them and allow them to develop in a dignified manner at various levels. According to UN data, in 2020 there were 281 million international migrants around the world, representing a figure of 3.6% of the world population.

Migrating is not easy. Even if the decision has been made to do it voluntarily and looking for better opportunities, uprooting can always have consequences on an emotional level. These consequences can be increased in the case of forced migration. In fact, there is a psychological picture that specifically affects migrants. It is about the Ulysses Syndrome, also known as the syndrome of the emigrant with chronic and multiple stress.

Also read: Infographic: How is the Panorama of Latin America in Mental Health Services?

Here we tell you everything you need to know about the syndrome and how it affects migrants.

On this date, it is very important to remember that migrants also need guarantees to take care of their mental health, since they go through an extremely difficult process in which they must leave behind everything they know and learn to live in an environment very different from that of them, especially when it comes to having to do it forcibly. The migratory crises that we see today must be tackled with the mental well-being of those who migrate in mind as well.