It’s always been a running joke in my house— “You’re not sad, just hungry”. Mental health awareness was non-existent in my family because for us, everything is always and will always be fine. I’ve noticed this in many of my own friends’ lives, where we are told that our feelings are invalidated because our parents provide us with a roof over our heads, food on the table, and clothes to wear. I implore you, however, to not mistake what I am saying as ‘ungratefulness’, rather the addressing of a very important, deep-rooted issues in many homes, particularly ethnic families. In a research essay “Ethnic and Gender Disparities in Needed Adolescent Mental Health Care” (article linked below for reference), the professors and researchers involved found that less than one-third of adolescents in white households and half of minority adolescents did not receive need mental health care. There are reasons for such a discrepancy, including lower-income/predominately ethnic neighborhoods having limited access to healthcare and insure (that many families may deem as inessential), pre-conceived notions for healthcare biases (our healthcare system being tailored towards nonminorities), and more. However, something I see especially prevalent is the stigma surrounding mental health. Speaking from my own experience, I had no reason to have struggled with my mental health. As previously stated, I had everything I needed. More factors into this sense of invalidation included my family’s fervent Catholicism (why be sad when God provides everything you need?) and the fear to bring shame to my parents. Once again, please do not mistake this post as spiteful or ungrateful towards my family. I also do not speak for other people, especially those from non-POC families. Thus, I pose the question— what was your experience with mental health in relation to your family and your upbringing? How can we combat this stigma with mental health? Are there more underlying issues behind adolescent mental health?
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3133675/
ReplyDeleteDuring times like this where everything is changing, I too, question this stigma involving mental health we adolescents face. Coming from my personal experience, what deteriorates my mental health despite having everything I need is a sense of underlying guilt and the need to desperately chase high expectations, because I am considered to be lucky. With that, I also struggle to voice out my worries. Maybe this runs commonly with Asian families, but it's adequate to keep a strong face and act like you have everything under control when the going gets tough. From my upbringing, mentioning the topic of mental health was looked down upon. Saying that you were not okay was like having a weakness. How easily mental health is commonly skimmed across is also concerning. Saying we go through things like "seasonal depression", we impose our view of negative emotions to be some sort of trait we have to deal with as part of our coming of age. What's good about it, I should say is that we are coming to terms with the fact that mental health is an issue we all face. However, we face the challenge of taking it seriously and recovering from it. If there was a way to surpass the level of acknowledging our struggles to helping each other, maybe this stigma can change. This is the part of our lives where we need to openly discuss things that make us uncomfortable. If we can get through these sorts of vulnerable conversations, it'll be easier to confront our concerns on such issues.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteComing from an all white family, I can not personally relate to my immediate family completely shutting out mental health. I was forced into therapy, and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to try and benefit their own mental health. I empathize with my friends who grew up in homes that believes only God cures everything, or that disorders of all types don't exist in the first place. It's sad that some teens with mental disorders actually come from their own family constantly putting pressure, making comments, or just treating them poorly. I believe that just because your family gives you shelter, food, and clothes, you can't be mad about your family treating you in ways that harm you. I hope that as this generation gets older, the awareness of mental health grows, and more people can get help.