Mindfull

My older sister is the strongest person in my life. She has been my family’s support system since I can remember. During her college experience, she became anxious balancing her personal life, work, and school. She confided in me and told me she understood that the weight she was carrying was more than she could handle, but it was impossible for her to let go of any responsibility. I suggested she go to therapy since her school offered it for free; however, she went and then realized that her experience with therapy did not fulfill her. She told me she found talking to a stranger about her life made her feel uncomfortable. My sister continued other methods to improve her mental health and strongly believes everyone should go visit a therapist because, although she didn’t like the experience, many people benefit from it. I am glad my sister was being proactive about bettering her mental health and suggested other tips that perhaps could help me with my mental health. It wasn’t until I went to college and began to feel a decrease in my mental health that I was able to understand why my sister felt uncomfortable talking to a stranger about her life and mental health: in my family it is almost a taboo to speak about depression or mental health. My mom and her mom never talked about mental health, and when they did, they usually bashed on anxiety and stress. Their “solution” was to keep busy and “snap out of it,”which are terms that create a stigma against seeking help. I do believe my Mexican culture made an impact on my sister’s life, but more specifically growing up with my grandma stigmatizing mental health.