Recently, someone told me that a person was “faking” their mental health struggles. When I responded that mental health issues existed throughout that person’s family, the answer shocked me: This person responded, “Exactly my point. How can the whole family have mental health issues?”
What made it even harder to hear was that this came from someone with a college degree. Actually, mental health conditions can run in families. Genetics can play a role, along with life experiences, trauma, environment, and other factors. Having relatives with mental illness does not mean someone will automatically develop a condition, but family history can increase risk. National Institute of Mental Health
Therefore, if educated people can still question whether mental illness is real, imagine how much work remains in communities where mental health was rarely discussed.
In many Latino families, we were taught to be strong. No llores. Échale ganas. Ponte a trabajar. Reza. And faith, family, and resilience can absolutely be sources of strength. But sometimes strength also means saying, “I need help.”
Mental therapy is deeply personal for me. Last month I walked in honor of my brother, who died by suicide 15 years ago. I know firsthand that mental illness isn’t something we can dismiss as attention-seeking, weakness, or something someone simply needs to “get over.” Suicide is a serious public-health issue, and mental health conditions affect millions of Americans. National Institute of Mental Health
Among Hispanic adults specifically, recent federal data estimate that about one in five experienced a mental illness in the previous year. SAMHSA. We have to stop whispering about mental health. We have to stop judging people for getting therapy, taking medication, or admitting they aren’t okay. And most importantly, we have to believe people when they tell us they are struggling.
Because sometimes the person everyone thinks is “faking it” is desperately hoping someone will finally take them seriously. Mental health is health. Let’s start treating it that way.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or suicide crisis in the U.S., call or text 988 for free, confidential support 24/7. National Institute of Mental Health
Rosa Julia Parra
Founder Palo Magazine
