¿Salud mental, que cosa eso? Mental health, what’s that?
September 4, 2018
Salud Mental, Que cosa eso?! Mental Health, what’s that?!
Mi gente! Disfruta tu semana y por favor, cuidate! Salud Mental es muy importante. Acuerdate, malentendidos sobre la salud mental en la comunidad Latinx es completamente normal, pero quiero aclarar las cosas.
My people! Enjoy your week and please take care! Mental Health is very important. Remember, misunderstandings about mental health in the Latinx Community are completely normal, but I want to clear things up! Salud Mental, que cosa eso will be diving deep into Mental Health in the Latinx Community. I’ll mention, orgullo aka pride, common misunderstandings, & mental health disorders. Latinos use comedy consistently to run and hide from their emotions. You heard it right! We don’t cope, we hide from our emotions! We are so proud and hard-headed. Cabeza dura!!!
Have you followed the August Gordita’s Way series: Mental Health in the Latinx Community: & thought, what in the world is mental health? Mental health is a person’s regard to their psychological & emotional well-being. Today, you will hear Latinx voices and their personal take on mental health regarding topics such as family, mental health disorders, relationships with alcohol, etc. We’re going to go deep! Some individuals will not have their whole name or photo posted due to anonymity and privacy purposes. Let’s go!
Misunderstandings/Stereotypes about Mental Health…
Growing up, I always thought, “Terapia es para la gente blanca!” → “Therapy is for white people!” O como dice mi familia, “Esas cosas son para los locos.” → “That stuff is for crazy people.” Ignorance at its best. I came to believe that mental health disorders such as schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, bipolar, borderline personality, etc. are something we’re just not supposed to talk about. These topics are very taboo in Latino culture. Find out more about these disorders here.
On both of my abuelos sides, my familia had a history of alcoholism, schizophrenia, & other disorders that I can’t even put to name. Knowledge & education about mental health disorders in the Latinx community is key. Mental Health disorders such as: schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, etc. can have a negative impact on our social and personal well-being. However, knowledge about these conditions gives us our POWER! Our oppressive society wants people of color to fail and not have access to mental health resources & knowledge. These disorders often leave oppressed groups in a very dark space. Feeling these thoughts can lead to helplessness. There is help out there and resources mi gente! Not having the knowledge or ability to identify these disorders makes us intimidated to bring these issues to the forefront.
We are used to taking on battles and internalizing them. We have become accustomed to “just dealing with it.” We don’t need anyone’s help. Somos fuertes! PRIDE! That’s probably the biggest lie that I am still internalizing on a certain level. We owe it to ourselves to end the stigma, bring awareness, & get help. You may just save your loved one’s and familias’ lives by having these simple conversations & emphasizing the importance of self-care. I am no expert or therapist, but this is real, & I want you to hear from real voices about their experiences!
“What does mental health mean to you?”
You are hearing the shared experiences & voices of Latinx folks relationships with mental health, family, & more! Why does mental health matter?
→ Felicia Hernandez: (Feli) Founder of Gordita’s Way
“It keeps me sane! Tuning in to my personal needs makes me not want to pop off on someone if they irritate me! It helps me communicate effectively with my peers, familia, close friends, & colleagues. I wish I was taught how to communicate effectively as a kid. I was just taught to argue and not stop until I won an argument. Yes, y’all in case you didn’t know, your favorite Gordita has quite the temper & if I don’t seek out some professional help or coping mechanisms I’m afraid it may sometimes get the best of me.
“Topics about family gatherings & parties!”
Feli: “You know you’re at a Latino gathering when everybody is talking over each other! People may think, Are they yelling or are they just talking?! We’re so loud!! Everybody has to get their opinions in!”
→ Freddy: Latinx Behavioral Health Therapist
“ I cannot recall a moment growing up in my Latinx family in which mental health was explicitly and frankly discussed with either my parents or my siblings. My prior experiences with mental health professionals weren’t that great, considering my parents’ solution to me coming out as gay was to get me “fixed” by a therapist. That really informed why I decided to get into this field and it motivates me to do the work that I do for the queer Latinx community. I strive to be an empowering and validating therapist with my clients, while talking openly about the cultural messages we received from family or society-at-large, that doesn’t place enough emphasis on mental health as HEALTH, and its implications for our overall well-being.”
→ Brandie Carlos: Founder of Therapy for Latinx & Marketing & Media Design of Latinx Therapy Resource Website.
“Having good mental health to me means being able to thrive in life. Oftentimes as Latinx we are so focused on surviving and getting bills and basic needs met that we don’t make time to take care of our mental and emotional needs. For me I’ve dealt with depression and anxiety the majority of my life. Once I started talking about it openly with trusted people in my life it got easier. I learned what navigating depression and anxiety looked like for me. I stopped feeling guilty for sleeping, declining invitations, or feeling the need to reschedule. The people that love me and want to be in my life understand it’s not personal. It’s been a journey of living life in my truth.”
→ Follow her IG @therapforlatinx for more resources and info!
→ Javier Arellano: Outreach Project Coordinator
“Nobody talks about their feelings. The only way we know how to communicate with each other is through the flow of liquor, harsh jokes, and/or pulling each other down. If something bad happens, nobody is going to talk about it. Not reacting to it is the approval.”
→ Mari: Biracial Latina Engineer:
“What can happen to a child with a parent with mental disorder(s): the child becomes responsible for the parent. They switch roles; the child could potentially resent the parent(s) later on due to the responsibility role & limited childhood experience.The child is forced to mature faster. I’ve gone through this process and it wasn’t until my adult years that I started to grasp that my parent struggled profusely with the mental disorders and felt guilt for my anger towards my parent. We need programs out there to educate and help youth through this entire process.”
→ Anonymous:
“Every man is a functional alcoholic. People don’t talk about things.”
Next story will dive into the use of alcohol as a coping mechanism in the Latinx community.
We’ll touch on comedy, negative and positive coping mechanisms and tools to stay healthy. Stay tuned mi gente. Don’t forget to utilize the resources I’ll be listing with culturally competent Latinx therapists & more from IG @therapyforlatinx.