Common Mental Health Struggles of First and Second Generation Immigrants
“Melting Pot.” - I grew up hearing this term to describe the mix of different cultures and ethnicities that make up this country, all blended together as one. While it is now recognized that melting pot is not the best way to honor and see the true diversity of this country, the idea still remains - The pressure to assimilate into the oneness of the melting pot or the dominant culture. This pressure is both external and internal. The external pressure comes from the new community/ society we are trying to navigate, that we will be better accepted if we learn to live according to the laws of this land. The pressure we feel from within comes from the very human parts of us that need to feel a sense of belongingness to this new home. This often creates an internal struggle in which we are constantly fighting with different identities or parts of ourselves, just wanting to be acknowledged or seen. As a first generation Pakistani- American, I too struggle with this conflict, often feeling ‘too American’ to be a Pakistani and ‘too Pakistani’ to be American. As an adult, I have learned that living with multiple identities means having to learn again and again what it means to reconnect with different parts of my identity based on different seasons of life. While there are many struggles to be acknowledged here, the most common issues that come up in my work with BIPOC, first, and second generation immigrants include: 1. Issues related to identity and belongingness and 2. Issues related to success and achievement.
Struggles with identity
Immigrants and children of immigrants often grow up wanting to assimilate and to belong to the dominant culture. At the same time, there may be pressure to also uphold certain cultural values and traditions at home. It becomes difficult to equally honor both parts of our identity, especially if you come from a cultural and ethnic background that values different things than the American society. For example, while American society values individualism, many communities around the world value collectivism where the needs of the family take precedence over the needs of the individual. Our understanding of and relationship to different parts of our identity also becomes more complicated when we face xenophobia or discrimination, which can make us feel rejected from the new communities we are trying to be a part of (Suleman et al., 2018). As a result, immigrants and children of immigrants often grow up between two cultures and between two value systems. It is normal to grow up feeling like you are part of both, and part of neither cultures.
These struggles can show up as depression, anxiety or PTSD, low self-esteem, feelings of loneliness, feelings of grief for ‘lost’ parts of our identity, and relational issues (including relationships with our parents/ caregivers).
Achievement and success
Children of immigrants often grow up with a strict definition of success and achievement. Coming to a new country involves a lot of financial struggle. In addition, there is an increasing wealth gap in America, with ethnic and racial minorities being more likely to experience poverty, which impacts access to resources (Mossakowski, 2008). New immigrants and undocumented immigrants are also more likely to struggle with finding employment. As a result, many individuals may grow up helping their parents with finances or other responsibilities, including providing emotional support at times. As a result, children of immigrants often tend to be more goal driven, and may even feel pressure to pursue certain ‘prestigious’ careers like medicine, engineering, etc. There is an internalized pressure to succeed so we may “make up” for the sacrifices of our parents. Some may even feel more responsible for the financial, emotional, and physical well-being of their parents as they get older.
Struggles with achievement and success may often show up as anxiety, impostor syndrome, fears related to failure and making mistakes, burnout and struggles with self care, difficulties seeking help due to stigma, and even relational issues.
How Can Therapy Help?
BIPOC, first and second generation immigrants often have difficulty seeking help because of the belief that one’s struggles should be kept private for fear of being viewed negatively by society/ community. Therapy aims to provide a non judgemental confidential safe space to talk about our struggles.
Therapy can help BIPOC, first and second generation individuals to explore their multiple identities, and process what it means to embrace different parts of themselves. The therapeutic process may include:
Processing and exploring our immigration stories of how we came to this country, and understanding how the physical, financial, emotional journey to citizenship impacted us.
Grieving relationships, opportunities, and parts of our identities that feel ‘lost,’ such as language, traditions, etc. This may include working through a lot of complicated feelings related to our past and ourselves, such as anger, guilt, shame, etc.
Exploring our upbringing, our relationships, the roles we play in our relationships, and this impacts our emotional and mental well-being.
Exploring how our social location (race, gender, socioeconomic background, age etc.) and our understanding and experiences with xenophobia impact our identities.
Therapy also helps us to explore, challenge, and reframe our internalized beliefs that impact how we view ourselves, our relationships, and the world around us. On issues related to achievement and success, therapy goals may include work on:
Impostor syndrome. This includes exploring how impostor syndrome impacts different areas of our lives and how we can learn to overcome it.
Beliefs about success and failure. This may include working through our fears and beliefs, how they impact us, and learning strategies to cope with failures.
How social location (race, gender, socioeconomic background, etc.) impacts our experiences in different spaces and access to resources.
References
Mossakowski, K. N. (2008). Dissecting the influence of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental health in young adulthood. Research on Aging, 30(6), 649-671.
Suleman, S., Garber, K. D., & Rutkow, L. (2018). Xenophobia as a determinant of health: an integrative review. Journal of Public Health Policy, 39(4), 407-423.
