We examined the symptom experience and illness explanations of Vietnamese immigrants to Canada through narratives collected during a study of pathways and barriers to mental health care. The narratives presented two culture-related explanatory models: phong thâp and uâ't u'ć. Common elements in the narratives of those who suffered from uâ't u'ć were experiences of injustice and indignation, along with the persistent inability to denounce these injustices because of the sufferer's social status. In contrast, phong thâp - an explanation analogous to rheumatism - was a socially acceptable way to describe distress that was attributed to depletion of energy, cold and environmental effects. Talk about phong thâp also served as an idiom of distress that permitted older people to express negative feelings about their life situation in Canada in a socially acceptable way. The contrast between these models throws into relief the complex interaction of explanatory models and idioms of distress in the co-construction of narratives of distress.