Healing Mental Illness with Culture and Ancestry

Culture, our past, our ancestors, our skin; these are things that are incredibly important to connect with for our mental health. A fellow christian/witch shared with me the other night, who also has Hungarian/Romani ancestry, that women, men and people with slavic ancestry that are not connected to the roots and culture of this area end up with mental illness. I imagine that this extends to anyone, especially in a country filled with immigrants, and ancestors who were native, immigrants, or slaves; and that this phenomenon takes effect in the majority of our brains and bodies here in the United States. The two obvious examples are those with African ancestry and Indigenous ancestry. But those of us with slavic, Irish, even puritan roots; this affects us as well. In a country that was and still is built upon the backs of immigrants, the indigenous, and slaves, but that is also adept in robbing those of us with rich culture and history of our connection to our roots, we do indeed suffer from mental illness on a national level.

In a way, as Americans, we are encouraged to abandon our culture and past in order to follow the American Dream. But I am here today to implore you, that in order to discover who you truly are, what your true identity is, and to heal our country from generations of trauma with a capital T, we do in fact need to look to the past.

I come from a family of Hungarian bootleggers, gardeners, and cooks on one side of my family, and Welch coal miners on the other. My grandpa on my Father’s side who’s wife was a Bevan descending from these Welch roots, was a bread truck driver who suffered from alcoholism and bipolar disorder. He even received electric shock therapy in the sixties. My great grandpa on my Father’s side was an alcoholic who worked at the Ford factory and drank away his income. My grandmother’s parents on my Father’s side lived in a home with a dirt floor and no plumbing. My grandmother’s Father on my Mother’s side, immigrated to Michigan in 1908 from Romanian Hungary. He was a bootlegger and fed his family through the Great Depression from his vast garden, canning and jarring many foods stored in the dirt floor basement of the stone house that he built by hand. My mother’s parents both came from poverty and were also incredibly alcoholic and abusive.

My mother has wanted to take me to Hungary since I was thirty years old, and now I am forty six. I have not been able to go because of my mental illness. She has been several times, and connects deeply with her heritage by practicing textile artistry as an amazing weaver, cooking amazing meals from food that she has grown herself, and traveling every winter to India and has done so for over twelve years, where her Romani ancestry has its roots. I believe she is a good example of how to separate ourselves from the abuse that has been passed down throughout our generations, and the generations of Trauma that have been passed down from living in a country that has sought greatly to sever us from our actual roots and heritage.

When I was sitting at the local Women’s Coffee House several years ago here on Lopez Island which happens annually, and has for over four decades, and has a rich history of its own, I was blessed to hear a fellow Hungarian play traditional Hungarian Folk Music on her violin. The sheet music was discovered in some belongings of her great grandfather. I can tell you that listening to this music, I was completely transported to a place deep within myself and was completely entranced. This music spoke to my core, and was like therapy for my soul, my mind, and my body.

So taking the advice of my new friend Sara, I hope to find ways to connect with my Welch and Hungarian ancestry for starters. That being said, I am a classic American Mutt, and have English, German, and French Canadian roots to discover and connect with as well. I do not believe I have any American Indigenous blood, but it could be hard to say, and this could be possible, especially within my French Canadian roots. I have never taken a ancestral blood test, and as I understand they do cost a substantial amount, and I live on a disabled salary. Still, I could ask for this for either my birthday or for Christmas next year. Even though I am a full grown adult, my sweet mother still engages in generous gift giving for these two important familial holidays. There are definitely more answers, discoveries, history, healing, and culture to discover within myself as I pursue the path of healing from severe mental illness, and as I discover more about myself, my roots, and my ancestry.