“A man would know the end he goes to, but he cannot know it if he does not turn, and return to his beginning, and hold that beginning in his being. If he would not be a stick whirled and whelmed in the stream, he must be the stream itself, all of it, from its spring to its sinking in the sea.”
― Ursula K. Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
We were all once guests at the Motherland Hotel, staying for a while in its comfortable rooms, though no one lingers forever. After an average of 280 days in paradise, where all our needs were met spontaneously, the world embraces us with all its uncertainties – or “into this world we’re thrown,” recalling Heidegger’s concept of thrownness (geworfenheit) as Jim Morrison put it in “Riders on the Storm” (1971). As we strive to form new bonds to replace the umbilical cord, we re-root ourselves and gravitate towards relational encounters. When the uncertainty of the outside world intensifies, we often seek refuge in a quest for “home,” which could be the warmth of familiar arms, the comfort of our dwelling, the memories of the past, or our homeland where they speak our mother tongue. While away from home, distance isn’t usually just about physical space; it can also manifest as the struggle to keep our inner world intact, causing a yearning for a sense of belonging. Thus, the ideas on migration in this article may resonate more deeply with recent migrants, yet they also speak to the universal human narrative, as our stories all begin with a forced migration.
The migration experience for an average individual extends beyond merely being thrown into a world they didn’t choose. If the early days of their journey were convincing enough that the world they were born into is worth inhabiting, individuals embark on a series of migrations to find their place. They transition from the warmth of their mother’s lap to the holding environment of a cradle, standing on their own feet, attending school, leaving the security of their childhood home, and eventually establishing their own “home,” a new holding environment to which one can safely surrender. Some may choose to unearth these established roots and leave their homeland, or perhaps these structures were never firmly established to begin with. These migration experiences, even when pursued under favorable conditions (such as seeking better living standards or quality education abroad), often reawaken the effects of past separations and inevitable losses, making the process of adapting to a new environment more complex.
Thus, migration entails not only a geographical change but also a personal and psychological transformation. Particularly in countries where political and/or economic conditions make it increasingly challenging for individuals to invest in the external world, migrants undergo profound changes in their inner worlds as they physically relocate in search of a new life. Adopting a psychoanalytic perspective on the migration experience provides a valuable opportunity to make sense of these changes. Naming the past, acknowledging what has been left behind, and finding new meanings in the places we go, individuals can embrace the objects and people of the new environment, thus transitioning from being a foreigner to becoming a part of the place they migrate to.
Every migration experience involves separation, loss, and grief, even if they are not visibly apparent.
In some languages, like Turkish, death is referred to as “migration,” which is poignant in this context. When individuals leave their roots, they sever their ties with what is familiar and habitual. Losing the sense of belonging often generates intense anxiety by recreating the conditions of being thrown into the world, but this time without anyone to hold. Fear of stepping beyond the familiar and confronting the unknown leads to feelings of insecurity and apprehension. Processing the loss and mourning is a prerequisite for the individual’s psychological adaptation to these new conditions. During the migration process, individuals strive to reorganize their inner homes, much like during the mourning process. The previously familiar order and relationships become no longer valid. To establish a new life, a profound transformation is required in the individual’s psyche. They begin to realize desires and expectations they didn’t even know they brought with them in their suitcase and must cope with the compatibility of those with their new reality over time. The migration experience challenges individuals with conflicts within themselves, amidst disappointments and satisfactions from the external world, compelling a process of integrating a new sense of self. Finding a resolution to these conflicts requires negotiation, just as in the conflicts one faces repeatedly in their personal history to individuate. Otherwise, individuals cannot have an indivisible self. As the integrity of the inner world is not ensured, cracks begin to form between a self left behind in the past and the self that exists today. It becomes difficult to hold together the self-representations of the person they once were and the current self-representations that are being transformed and changed by the psychological effects of migration. Thus, one of the greatest challenges of a migrant is to adapt to a new environment while relinquishing a part of their identity without harming their inner integrity. This is often a much more challenging and complex process than expected. Nevertheless, continuing to invest in the new environment and maintaining the potential to establish new relationships while continuing this separation is both a factor that makes this task more difficult and facilitates it at the same time. People who migrate with fewer pieces of luggage get the chance to choose what they want to fill their new homes with, thanks to what they’ve left behind. Therefore, individuals choose to let some parts of themselves go, but in doing so, they gain the opportunity to reorganize their self. This allows them to encounter their own potential, which a child who has never left home could never discover.
Migration is not just a physical change but also a psychological journey.
Taking a psychoanalytic perspective on the migration experience assists individuals in adapting to new living conditions and integrating psychologically. Processing losses and finding meaning in them allows individuals to reorganize their psyche and find a place for themselves in a new environment. Psychotherapy guides and supports individuals in this transformational process. Supporting individuals undergoing this transformation during migration is an integral part of a healthy adjustment process.
Following this introductory article, I will delve deeper into the subject of migration in a series of subsequent articles. Throughout these articles, I will explore several comprehensive topics related to migration. If you have any topics you’d like to see covered or questions you’d like to ask, feel free to reach out to me at ozanerkovan@gmail.com. Additionally, if you’re interested in seeking psychological support regarding your own migration experience, you can contact me.
Psikolojik Danışmanlık ve Psikoterapi 
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