To cope with such psychological insecurities created by American culture, most Americans develop phoney personalities and big egos, act fake and arrogant, brag and BS a lot, become bullies themselves, or lose it and go crazy. This is why the American personality seems so fake and artificial, and why nearly everyone born after the 1960's in America seems to have mental issues and psychological baggage, as though they are somehow "messed up". It's all very dysfunctional for sure.
Fortunately, most other cultures are not like that. You see, the reason why foreigners are so much more authentic and down-to-earth is because their country is authentic and down-to-earth as well. Thus they did NOT have to develop fake personalities in order to fit in socially. They were allowed to be themselves. What this means is that YOU can be yourself too, in such foreign cultures that is. That's the GOOD NEWS here.
This is highly significant, because being able to BE YOURSELF is the true definition of freedom, and hence why many expats report that they feel freer abroad than in America. After all, if you can't even be yourself, you can never truly be free.
As one of my forum members, Grunt, said:
viewtopic.php?t=6692
Have you all noticed that in other countries, people do not struggle or make a big deal out of "self-esteem or confidence"? At least not to the degree that Americans do. That's because those are fake concepts invented by American culture. "Self-esteem" is a modern invention that did not exist before. And "confidence" has been perverted into something very nebulous and artificial."If anyone feels they "come out of their shell" when overseas, try to keep something in mind. That person you are overseas is the real you. The person you are in America is a prisoner, nothing more."
What Americans really mean when they say that you "lack self-esteem or confidence" is that you need to learn how to act more fake in order to fit into a fake culture like America. It's ridiculous. If you do comply with it, you end up only becoming faker. Ever notice that?
It's also a shaming tactic, for if you don't act fake then there's something wrong with you. It's very upside down, like the Twilight Zone.