Everyone struggles with Identity. Especially Latinx people who migrate to the United States or who are born here after their parents migrated. According to the article, Conocimiento, Colectividad y Curación: Understanding and Addressing LatinxYouth Mental Health and Wellness Through PAR Entremundos, "[t]he pressure often put on Latinx youth to assimilate to a white American culture has also been linked to higher development of anxiety, depressive symptoms, and socially related problems... These symptoms are even more prevalent in U.S. born Latinx youth," being pushed about your identity as a young Latinx person could end up impacting your mental health and put you at risk.
In Module 2, we spoke about what term we should identify people of Latin American descent. In the Latinx community we are so diverse, some of us don't even speak Spanish and this leads to our identity issues. "About half (51%) say they identify themselves most often by their family’s country or place of origin—using such terms as Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran or Dominican. And 21% say they use the term “American” most often to describe themselves. The share rises to 40% among those who were born in the U.S.'' as said in “ When labels don't fit:hispanics and their views of identity.” The debate about what to call each other leads to a sense of insecurity in their Latinx identity.
Embracing your true sexuality can be an immense struggle in the Latinx community because most of them are traditional and believe that if you identify as other than straight you are an abomination. The lack of support and discrimination leaves a big impact on the development of mental health issues.As said in LGBTQ+ Latino/a Young People’s Interpretations of Stigma and Mental Health: An Intersectional Minority Stress Perspective, "A key source of minority stress many LGBTQ+ Latino/a young adults emphasized as intersecting with their racial/ethnic identities was the stigma toward mental health challenges that pervaded their families and communities. In particular, LGBTQ+ Latino/a young adults articulated an emphasis on individual autonomy and resilience that prevailed in their Latino/a communities. "
According to Mexican American Women College Students’ Willingness to Seek Counseling: The Role of Religious Cultural Values, Etiology Beliefs, and Stigma, "[t]here is some evidence that marginalized ethnic minority women, such as Latinx women and African American women, may use their religion as first sources of help rather than seeking professional mental health services." In many cases since most people in the Latinx community are religious, they do not believe that mental illness is real. They will mask it with anything else than what it really is, a normal thing that can happen to anyone. Instead of facing the problem, most people will try to find home remedies and comfort in herbs and prayers to fix the problem. They would rather have their children suffer than get help from a professional.
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