Feel More Understood: The First Steps
How to Feel More Understood: The First Steps
If you ever find yourself thinking, “Why don’t the people closest to me get me?” there could be several factors.
In this episode, I talk about the cultural aspects that might play a role in this, and some things you can do to start to feel more understood.
For many adults with immigrant parents, growing up in a home where hierarchy mattered more than expression meant we didn’t get a lot of practice with things like:
Naming what we want
Saying what we feel (maybe even being aware of how we feel)
Choosing for ourselves
Or knowing that our thoughts, feelings, ideas can be shared.
So now, as adults, even simple questions like “What do you want for dinner?” can feel… bigger than they should.
The weight of the decision.
The worry because you don’t know.
The fear of sharing.
Feeling understood has less to do with other people… and more to do with a skill you didn’t have much practice with growing up.
In this episode of Empowered with Immigrant Parents, we explore:
The foundation for being understood
The idea of some people hearing you, but not understanding you
Cultural conditioning and how it shapes when we speak and stay silent
Small daily choices to practice this muscle
This can start to help you think about this differently and to help you practice the muscle of trying to be understood more.
And if this resonated with you as an adult with immigrant parents, and you want weekly reflections, and culturally resonant tools…
👉 Join my free email community for adults with immigrant parents: https://heyallisonly.com/email
