Rewrite your immigrant family history by HEALING INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA and by EMBRACING YOUR CULTURAL ETHNIC IDENTITY!
In this powerful and deeply personal episode of MAIM TIME, we dive headfirst into one of the most painful, complex, and transformative experiences shared by many children of immigrants: intergenerational trauma.
Growing up with parents who came from third-world countries—who survived war, poverty, and unimaginable hardship—can often mean growing up in households filled with dysfunction, unprocessed trauma, and emotional neglect. As children, we just wanted love and safety. Instead, we got confusion, silence, shame, maybe even violence. And many of us did the only thing we could do to survive: we disassociated. We rejected our heritage, our language, our roots—because to us, our culture was the source of pain.
It’s an all-too-common story: children of immigrants abandoning their ancestral identity to assimilate and survive in Western societies, only to grow up with a lingering sense of emptiness, isolation, and identity crisis.
But what if that pain wasn’t the end of the story?
What if the true glow-up—the real redemption arc—isn’t found in running away, but in returning?
In this episode, I talk about the double tragedy of denying your heritage: first because your parents hurt you, and second because you later choose to reject your roots, not realizing that doing so only deepens the wound. Healing begins with a radical act: reclaiming the parts of ourselves we were taught to hate, and learning to forgive—not to excuse, but to free ourselves from being chained to the past.
I speak directly to those who’ve ever said, “I wish I wasn’t Asian.” To those who’ve felt lost between cultures. To those who never felt heard or seen by their own family. You are not alone. And you are not broken.
Mother Asia is waiting for you.
The Ancestors are waiting for you.
The Dragon inside you—the Superconsciousness—is waiting for you to awaken.
You are the continuation of generations of struggle and love. You are a living bridge between the past and the future. And when you choose to heal, forgive, and embrace your cultural identity, you are doing what your ancestors dreamed of. You’re creating space for peace and power, not just for yourself—but for all of us.
This is the episode for anyone who’s ever felt like a stranger in their own skin. For anyone who’s ever been ashamed of their last name, their parents’ accent, their “ethnic” lunch at school. This is the call to come home to yourself.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
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