A family gathers around the dinner table, forced smiles on their faces as they shovel food into their mouths and make small talk. But the teenage daughter sits eyeing her food with a blank stare, she is a part of the minority group with the most suicide attempts— Latina high school girls. There is a secret lingering between the family, making the air toxic and tense. A secret that draws shame in many Latin families: mental illness.
Mental health is a topic that is rarely ever discussed in Latin families, let alone their communities. In their minds mental illness is the equivalent of insanity, it is something that will cost you your reputation, your job, and even your relationships. When you turn a biological disorder into a shameful secret, you make it harder for individuals to seek treatment.
As it is, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health only 15.9 percent of Latin Americans seek medical treatment. That means only 725,000 Latinos are receiving help, out of the millions that are estimated to be affected. Imagine if millions of individuals were walking around with a broken leg or any other physical injury. We would demand they get treatment, right? Yet, Latino Americans are suffering every day without help or reprieve.
There is a saying in the Latin community “la ropa sucia se lava en casa” (you wash your dirty laundry at home) that is meant to instill the idea of emotional suppression in public and to keep the challenges of home a secret. Latin youth are afraid of seeking help because what if others find out, what if their problems become public? Talking about their mental health goes against everything they’ve been previously taught.
However, the adults in the Latin community are not the sole blame for the mental illnesses that plague their youth, growing up they rarely spoke about mental health or illness either. How can you aid or teach someone about an issue you, yourself know nothing about? When parents cannot help their children and are too afraid to talk about the issues plaguing them, Latin youth continue to struggle. It is no wonder that according to the Center for Disease Control Latin teens are more susceptible to mental health issues than black or white teens. Factors such as language barriers, toxic masculinity, homophobia, and poverty also play a role in the mental health epidemic facing Latin youth; but it is negative social attitudes and stigma that make it impossible for them to seek help.
Latin mother Sue Soriano talked about her experience with her adolescent son in a video from The National Alliance of Mental Health.
“They would tell me, “Don’t tell anyone what is wrong with him”. It would have been better if he was a drug addict or something else, but not that. Because nobody – he now has – he won’t be able to work, nobody wants to be near him, everybody turned their backs on him” said Soriano.
This issue not only affects the Latin American community but the United States as a whole. The Latin youth demographic is strong and rising to its full potential, racing towards their deserved greatness. But when you live with mental illness, it’s as if the finish line is moved. Only the United States will be the one who truly suffers. When we don’t educate Latin families on mental health, or smash language barriers in medical facilities, we lose. When we don’t speak out on this issue, we lose. What are we losing? The great achievements and contributions our talented Latin youth have to offer, and the mental health treatment they deserve.
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