Cultural Dissonance and Mental Health: Living Between Two Worlds

For many immigrants, especially second-generation individuals, mental health is shaped not just by external factors like work, housing, or immigration status — but by an internal tug-of-war between cultural expectations. This experience, often referred to as cultural dissonance, can have a profound impact on identity, belonging, and psychological well-being.

What Is Cultural Dissonance?

Cultural dissonance happens when someone is navigating two or more conflicting sets of cultural norms, values, or beliefs. For immigrants and their children, this might look like:

Being encouraged to pursue stability through traditional career paths (e.g., medicine, law, engineering), while feeling pulled toward more creative or unconventional careers.
Growing up with communal or collectivist values at home, while being immersed in individualistic cultures outside.
Managing conflicting views around mental health, sexuality, gender roles, or independence.

The Psychological Toll

Living between two worlds can feel like walking a tightrope — never fully belonging in either. Over time, this can take a toll:

Identity confusion: Constantly code-switching or shapeshifting to meet different expectations may leave people unsure of who they really are.
Guilt and pressure: Immigrants and their children often feel responsible for fulfilling family dreams or justifying sacrifices. This pressure can lead to anxiety, burnout, or people-pleasing tendencies.
Suppression of authenticity: When someone is made to feel “too Western” at home and “too ethnic” outside of it, they may mute their true selves — leading to chronic disconnection or even depression.
Stigma around mental health: In some cultures, seeking therapy is taboo. Those experiencing distress may feel ashamed or isolated, unable to speak openly with family or friends.

Navigating the Dissonance

The good news is that living between cultures can also cultivate empathy, creativity, and resilience. Here are a few strategies to support mental wellness amid cultural complexity:

Name the experience: Knowing that cultural dissonance is real and valid can help reduce shame. You’re not “too sensitive” — you’re navigating layered identities.
Redefine success: Challenge inherited narratives about what it means to succeed. Make room for values that are true to you — even if they diverge from cultural expectations.
Seek community: There is strength in being seen. Connect with others who understand the experience of cultural straddling — through support groups, online forums, or shared creative spaces.
Find culturally affirming care: A therapist who understands the nuances of cultural dissonance can help you unpack internalized pressure and create space for self-definition.
Express your story: Writing, art, and storytelling can help bridge the gap between your experiences and those around you. Your story has power.

For Clinicians and Allies

If you're supporting immigrant clients or students, avoid assuming cultural identity is one-dimensional. Ask about their experiences of navigating multiple cultures. Be curious — not prescriptive.

Encourage reflection around inherited values versus chosen values. Many clients have never been given permission to question the “rules” they live by. Therapy can be a space to sort through what fits and what doesn't — with compassion and without judgment.

Final Thoughts

Living between cultures isn't just an identity challenge — it's a mental health one. But it’s also a source of strength. Those who learn to hold cultural contradictions often develop deep emotional insight, cross-cultural fluency, and adaptability.

To the ones who speak two (or more) languages with different versions of themselves in each — you are not alone. Your journey is complex, valid, and worthy of support. You don’t have to choose between worlds. You can create one that honours all of you.

Karoline Achille is a Registered Psychotherapist at Catharsis Psychology and Psychotherapy.