Grief does not wait for the “right” time and it definitely does not pause just because we move to a new country. We start with a gentle content warning and an important reminder: we’re both mental health professionals, but this is education, not therapy. From there, we follow the thread that so many immigrants know too well, the moment you realize you have to become your own parent, make your own plans, and learn a whole new set of unspoken rules that no sitcom ever prepared you for.

We talk about culture shock in everyday life, why long distance friendships can start to feel strained, and how the time zone gap turns small check-ins into complicated emotional decisions. Then the conversation shifts into something heavier: what happens when people back home die, traditions continue, and you cannot be there for funerals or communal rituals. We explore the unique pain of grieving from abroad, the “vacuum” that can follow, and why the lack of shared mourning can leave your mind and body stuck searching for closure.

We also get practical. We unpack avoidance as a normal grief response, how it can quietly morph into “I don’t like it anymore,” and what helps instead: naming the feeling, sharing in small doses, finding even one person who gets the nuances, and creating personal rituals that honor the person you lost. If any part of this resonates, listen, share it with someone living far from home, and subscribe, leave a review, or send the episode to a friend who needs language for what they’re carrying.

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/

Malika and Gitika walked into Dr. Gabor Maté’s live lecture expecting insight but we got so much more than that! There’s something disarming about the way Dr Maté’ connects the personal to the political, the clinical to the everyday, and the mind to the body without splitting them into separate boxes. If you’ve ever felt your emotions living in your skin, your stomach, your jaw, or your fatigue, this conversation is for you.

We talk through the lines we can’t stop thinking about, starting with his blunt correction: the mind and body are not “connected” because they are one. From there, we explore what it means when the immune system and the emotional system are both trying to protect us, and how anger, suppression, and chronic stress can show up as inflammation, autoimmune issues, and other stress related illness. We also reflect on The Myth Of Normal and the cultural obsession with praising people who are endlessly calm, self sacrificing, and “no trouble” and why that story can quietly train us to abandon ourselves.

We zoom out to the systems level too. Healthcare is political, and medicine can follow ideology instead of science, affecting outcomes across race, gender, and community. We connect this to South Asian health and cardiovascular risk, the problems with size based assumptions, and why better care starts with better questions about stress, trauma, and support. And we end with the concept that hit us hardest: in a fight between attachment and authenticity, attachment often wins, until we learn to notice the pattern and choose differently.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the show with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find this corner of the circle.

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/

Immigration fear can take over your whole nervous system even when you’ve “done everything right.” Today we talk honestly about that reality from both sides of the couch: as therapists and as first-generation immigrants navigating the same headlines, policy shifts, and threat-to-belonging that our clients bring into session.

We dig into the mental health patterns that show up under immigration stress: hypervigilance, news spirals, anger, helplessness, and the grief that resurfaces years after your own paperwork is settled. We also unpack why certain phrases sting so much, like calling immigrant panic an “overcorrection,” and why “just go back” ignores the truth that many of us have two homes and a deep desire to live life on our own terms. Along the way, we name the complicated mix of privilege and reversibility, and how guilt can push people into silence instead of connection.

From a clinical lens, we share ways to support immigrants without pathologising survival. That includes reflective listening, carefully chosen language, and distress tolerance skills offered with compassion. We also explore community as a protective factor: solidarity across different immigration statuses, signaling safety, and the lighthouse metaphor for becoming a steady presence when the world feels chaotic. The takeaway we keep returning to is simple and hard: immigrant life is not just paperwork, and we deserve space for both pain and joy.

If this resonates, subscribe, share the show with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people searching for immigrant mental health support and therapy for immigrants can find us.

Notes: A 1-hour workshop about Immigration and Mental Health led by Gitika: https://pacificnorthwestces.com/on-demand-ces-and-passes/ols/products/1-ce-cultural-awarenesscompetency-leaving-home-to-come-home-immigration-and-mental-health-with-gitika-dr-g-talwar-phd-recorded-july-2025-nasw-conf-19-25-159

A 3-hr workshop about Immigration and Mental Health led by Gitika:

https://www.constantedu.com/courses/immigration-and-mental-health-immigration-to-homecoming

We would love to hear from you! write to us

Thanks for listening! we would love to hear from you, write to us,

Your hosts,

Malika & Gitika

Malika is the Founder of Ik Aas Counseling, know more at https://malikabains.com/

Gitika is the Founder of Pranh Healing & Wellness, know more at https://www.pranhwellness.com/