Slovak Traveler Shares Struggle with Social Anxiety Abroad in Advice Column

A 24-year-old Slovak woman participating in a Work and Travel program in the United States wrote to a Slovak advice column describing how her summer abroad triggered unexpected social anxiety. The woman said the decision to travel was impulsive — motivated by a desire for change and to step outside her comfort zone — but that reality upon arrival proved far more difficult than anticipated. The column, published by Slovak daily Denník N, addresses the psychological challenges some young people face when living and working independently in a foreign country for the first time.