As we celebrate Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month in May, we honor the cultural contributions of this community to the United States. We also recognize the extensive history of trauma the community has endured and how it continues to affect the current generations. Our predecessors had to navigate geographical displacement, colonialism, violence, and traumatic immigration processes. In turn, they may pass down the anxieties, emotional stress, and maladaptive coping strategies to future generations.
“Trauma decontextualized in a person looks like personality. Trauma decontextualized in a family looks like family traits. Trauma in a people looks like culture.” -Resmaa Menakem
If you find yourself feeling conflicted while navigating your cultural identity, it’s possible that you’re trying to heal more than your own experience; you may also be trying to heal from legacy burdens.
Internal Family Systems is a therapeutic approach that explores legacy burdens and their effect on individuals. Legacy burdens are beliefs or emotions that are passed along through the ancestral line. Some examples include beliefs such as:
“We shouldn’t talk about anything vulnerable because it shows weakness.”
“Having imperfections is unacceptable.”
“Being different isn’t safe. Don’t deviate from the norm”
These shed light to the anxieties that our predecessors were facing and the strategies they used to survive. These legacy burdens likely influenced the values that were modeled in our families and how we were taught to navigate emotions, set boundaries, or handle conflict.
Even if our current generation wasn’t present during the same difficult periods, these qualities and beliefs can be passed on from generation to generation. Unfortunately, these beliefs are likely not helpful for us anymore because they may not fully reflect our lived experiences.
Being able to recognize these legacy burdens and begin the process of unburdening can help us live a more fulfilling life that aligns with our current goals and values. It also allows us to pass on a more positive legacy.
Part of uncovering legacy burdens is recognizing that these beliefs and emotions aren’t a flaw in ourselves. It’s recognizing that these are defenses that helped our predecessors survive and were passed on through generations. We want to create a space of compassion to recognize that these beliefs were helpful for our predecessors but may not serve us anymore.
If you think you carry any legacy burdens, you can ask yourself:
As you become more aware of your community’s history and legacy burdens, it can bring up concerns related to identity, grief, anger, and anxiety. If you notice any legacy burdens, working with a culturally competent therapist can be helpful for moving forward. Complex emotions can arise from this process and having support is beneficial so that you can move towards healthier relationships, better self-esteem, and a more fulfilling quality of life.
Understanding legacy burdens is not a black-and-white process. We don’t have to abandon our culture and history to assimilate. We also don’t have to hold on to everything we inherited to maintain cultural integrity. Unburdening is the process of building awareness on the beliefs that no longer serve us and choosing the legacies that we want to honor and pass forward.
“I can honor and respect how my predecessors survived their difficulties AND I can make space for my own experience.”
