What are you crazy?/Pero tu ta loca?
Unfortunately mental health is a new topic that hit the Caribbean/POC community. So while some of us are young and open to being open a lot of our grandparents and parents are not as open they may even reject the whole thing completely. If your family is also on the bandwagon of "mental health doesn't exist" or "therapy is for crazy people" it may be harder for you to express yourself without fear of judgement,rejection or not feeling heard due to the years of your emotional needs not being met and that is not your fault but it is your responsibility to be better and different. In the article 'Why mental health is stigmatized in POC communities" Fatimah Zarah writes "According to a research article in BMC Public Health, the stigma of mental illness is higher among ethnic minorities than among majorities.Stigma is an intricate problem that involves self, public, and structural components. It affects people dealing with mental illnesses, their support systems, and healthcare services." Due to the high numbers in depression found in ethnic groups it is more than important that we open up and start building those foundations of respectful,meaningful and honest conversations with our loved ones. Now the bigger picture where does it stem from? Let us go further on where it all started within our communities. The article "Impact of mental health stigma on help-seeking in the Caribbean: Systematic review" the authors write and quote "Traditionally in the Caribbean, poor mental health and expressing emotions has broadly been culturally and socially stigmatized, associated with shame, personal weakness, and a lack of commitment to God, which acts as a barrier to seeking mental health support". Now lets see how it affects a different group but still harmful. Going back to the article Why mental health is stigmatized in POC communities Fatimah Zarah writes. "It is crucial to be cognizant that the stigma in Black communities is intimately tied to systemic racism, colonialism, and slavery. Black people fear getting diagnosed with mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder because these mental illnesses are criminalized. A great number of research articles asserted that the disorders were manifested by rage, volatility, and aggression, and that it was a condition that afflicted “Negro men.” This paved the way for the justification of Jim Crow laws, police brutality, and mass incarcerations in prisons and psychiatric hospitals." If you look back in history POC from all around have suffered from the survivalist mentality. We see it in our mothers our fathers our grandparents but the one who's survived and has to feel it all is the person you look at in the mirror. "The survivalist mentality that has been ever present since shapes the narrative along the lines of: We have overcome unimaginable adversity yesterday and today, and no mental illness is going to overtake us. In some Black cultures, depression and anxiety are viewed as weaknesses, and to conquer them, you need to have willpower." These "barriers" and toxic mentalities that have been passed down for generations have acted nothing but excuses for decades now and i don't know about you guys but i am tired of hearing it como se dice it's starting to sound like a broken record OVERPLAYED!!!!
Sites used below//
Why mental health is stigmatized in POC communities~
https://seattlecollegian.com/why-mental-health-is-stigmatized-in-poc-communities
The impact of mental health stigma on help seeking in the Caribbean~
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10497129/#: