Managing anxiety across cultures / 跨文化的焦慮調適

Anxiety doesn't look the same everywhere

In Western clinical language, anxiety is often described in fairly direct terms: racing thoughts, a pounding heart, dread about the future. Clients raised in that framework tend to come in already able to say "I think I have anxiety."

在西方的臨床語言裡，焦慮常被直接描述為：思緒飛快、心跳加速、對未來的恐懼。在這樣的文化脈絡下長大的個案，通常比較容易直接說出「我覺得我有焦慮」。

But for many of my clients raised in Chinese or other Asian households, anxiety rarely announces itself by name. It shows up as a tight chest before a family gathering, an inability to sleep before an exam, a persistent urge to keep busy so there's no room left to feel anything at all. It's described less as "I'm anxious" and more as 心裡不踏實 (my heart doesn't feel settled) or 心很亂 (my mind is very chaotic) — language that points at the body and the atmosphere of a feeling rather than naming the feeling directly.

但對許多在華人家庭中成長的個案來說，焦慮很少會直接「報上名來」。它可能是家庭聚會前胸口的緊繃、考試前怎麼也睡不著、或是一種讓自己一直忙碌、不留空間去感受任何情緒的衝動。比起說「我很焦慮」，更常聽到的說法是「心裡不踏實」或「心很亂」——這些語言指向的是身體與氛圍，而不是直接為情緒命名。

Neither way of speaking is wrong

I want to be clear that neither way of describing anxiety is more valid than the other. The goal in our work together isn't to translate one culture's emotional language into another's, as though the Western framework is the "correct" one. It's to help you find language — in whichever mix of English and Mandarin feels true to you — that actually captures your experience.

我想特別說明：這兩種描述焦慮的方式，並沒有哪一種比較「正確」。我們在治療中的目標，不是把一種文化的情緒語言翻譯成另一種語言，彷彿西方的框架才是「標準答案」。而是幫助你找到屬於自己的語言——不論是中文、英文，或是兩者交織——能夠真正捕捉到你的經驗。

What actually helps

A few approaches I return to often with clients navigating anxiety across two cultural worlds:

Naming without judgment. Simply noticing "my chest is tight" or "my mind feels chaotic" and treating it as information rather than a personal failing is often the first real step. You don't need the clinical vocabulary to start — you just need to notice.

單純地覺察。 只是留意到「胸口很緊」或「心很亂」，並把它當作一種訊息，而不是個人的失敗，這往往已經是很重要的第一步。你不需要先學會臨床用語才能開始——你只需要去覺察。

Separating the feeling from the shame around the feeling. For many clients, the anxiety itself is only half the burden — the other half is the belief that a "good," capable, filial person shouldn't feel this way at all. Untangling those two threads brings real relief.

把情緒本身，和圍繞著情緒的羞愧感分開。 對許多個案來說，焦慮本身只是一半的負擔——另一半，是那種「一個好的、有能力的、孝順的人不應該有這種感覺」的信念。把這兩條線分開，往往能帶來很真實的釋放。

Building a steadiness practice, not just a coping trick. Breathing exercises and grounding techniques help in the moment, but longer-term steadiness comes from a consistent relationship with your own emotional world — checking in regularly, rather than only when things boil over.

建立「安穩感」的練習，而不只是應急技巧。 呼吸練習和接地技巧在當下很有幫助，但長期的安穩感，來自於你與自己情緒世界之間持續、穩定的關係——經常性地與自己核對，而不是只在情緒爆發時才處理。

You don't have to choose one language for your healing

If you've ever felt like you have to leave part of your cultural self at the door to talk about mental health, I want you to know that's not the case here. You're welcome to bring your anxiety in whatever language it shows up in — English, Mandarin, or the space in between — and we'll work from there together.

如果你曾覺得，談論心理健康時，必須把部分的文化自我留在門外，我想告訴你：在這裡不需要這樣。無論你的焦慮以什麼語言出現——英文、中文，或是兩者之間的模糊地帶——都歡迎你帶進來，我們可以一起從那裡開始。