Emotion terms in one language may not be translatable to another language. Some communities of color may use somatic descriptions of their emotions (e.g., an Indo-Guyanese person may feel anxious, but describe it as heart problems or strong headaches).

• People from different cultures may associate an emotion term with different feelings, functions, and meanings. For example, in many interdependence-focused cultures, such as China, the concept of shame is divided into multiple distinct experiences in Mandarin (e.g., Diu lian – loss of reputation, Can kui – failure to meet an ideal, Xiu kui – personal failure, and Xiu chi – social/public disgrace; Bedford, 2004).
• Some cultures may have negative and/or positive beliefs about expressing or suppressing certain emotions (e.g., individuals in certain South Asian diaspora may have negative beliefs about expressing pleasant and unpleasant emotions with others in and out of their families).

Fear/anxiety and shame are common responses to historical or current race-based stress and trauma. It is important to normalize these natural alarm system responses (Carlson et al., 2018). Specifically, there are several trauma-related symptoms that can develop in response to racism:

• Re-experiencing: thinking about the race-based stress and trauma experiences when they do not want to think about them (e.g. nightmares, thoughts/images/memories, etc.)
• Avoidance: avoiding people, places, or events/things that remind them of race-based stress and trauma (e.g., being around people that resemble perpetrators of race-based stress and trauma, conversations related to the experiences, news/social media content reminding them of the experiences, etc.)
• Arousal and reactivity: feeling “wound up” much of the time and have a hard time relaxing (e.g. anger/irritable, sleep difficulties, being on guard and startling easily, etc.) 
• Negative thoughts and feelings: experiencing changes in how they think about themselves, others, and/or the world (e.g. feeling emotionally distant from people, feeling ashamed of oneself, blaming oneself for the experiences, etc.)

There are many behavioral responses to race-based stress and trauma, including hiding emotions about the experiences, struggling to remain present, self-invalidation or minimizing the experiences (e.g., I am used to it), and mask of accommodation (i.e., a protective strategy to create distance from painful identity-based stressors by fawning in response to these experiences; Lee, 2005).

Validate any and all reactions to race-based stress and trauma and, if appropriate, you can also provide psychoeducation on the effects of race-based stress and trauma:

• E.g., “I believe you, and your reaction makes sense. Experiencing racism can have deep and lasting effects. It can show up in the way people think, feel, and respond to the world around them in many ways. Some people start to avoid reminders of these experiences, feel strong emotions like shame, anger, and fear, and talk to themselves in a critical way.”

(Thoughts, Feelings/Sensations, and Urges/Actions)

• To explore emotional experiences in culturally affirming ways, consider asking:
  • E.g., “It’s common for individuals from Asian backgrounds to feel shame when they believe they’ve disappointed their family or brought embarrassment to their family in the eyes of the community. How has culture shaped this emotion for you? How are emotions understood or talked about? How do others in your community describe fear/anxiety, sadness, anger, and/or shame/guilt? Are there emotions that can be expressed publicly and/or privately?”
• Thoughts: What thoughts, such as memories, images, or ideas, come into your mind when you feel this emotion?
• Feelings/Bodily Sensations: What terms do you use to label the emotion that shows up in your body? If you locate the emotion, where do you feel this emotion in your body?
  • Some cultures may emphasize bodily awareness, while others may not name it directly. Consider physical symptoms that might be connected to emotional pain (e.g., fatigue, headaches, stomachaches).
  • Some cultures value emotion suppression (e.g., among some Indigenous veterans, there may be a belief that fully experiencing or expressing emotions about someone who has passed could disrupt that person’s journey in the afterlife). Raise the question: How does my experience of emotion affect others?
• Urges/Actions: When you allow yourself to feel this emotion, what do you feel pulled to do or avoid doing? What are you doing internally (e.g., worry or ruminate) or externally (e.g., hiding, avoiding, vigilance/scanning, contacting others, etc.) in response to the emotion?

• Antecedents: 
  • What are some triggers for race-based stress and trauma (e.g., subtle and overt identity stressors)? Are there any recent news stories or events you’ve seen that have stuck with you or felt personal in some way?
  • Race-based stress and trauma can trigger strong emotions (e.g., anger, shame/guilt, fear/anxiety, and sadness). Someone may experience microaggressions, stereotypes, prejudice, and/or discrimination that are directly (e.g., occurring to the person intentionally or unintentionally) or indirectly experienced (e.g., heard about occurring to others in their community or witnessing it occurring to others in their community on social media, workplace setting, etc.).
• Responses: 
  • What emotions do you feel in response to race-based stress and trauma (e.g., individual, cultural and institutional racism)? 
• Consequences: 
  • How do cultural expectations shape what is seen as an appropriate or inappropriate reactions to your emotions (e.g., not showing sadness in front of others)? 
  • When are certain behaviors helpful to cope with race-based stress and trauma? When might these behaviors be unhelpful in other context unrelated to race-based stress and trauma?

The individual experience of guilt and shame in Chinese culture. Culture & Psychology, 10(1), 29-52.

Addressing the impact of racism on veterans of color: A race-based stress and trauma intervention. Psychology of violence, 8(6), 748-762.

Taking off the mask. Voices of color, 91-115.

Emotion socialization and ethnicity: An examination of practices and outcomes in African American, Asian American, and Latin American families. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 86(2), 168-178.