Mental Health and Culture

Source: Photo by Kat Jayne from Pexels

It seems we are so celebrity driven that we take a lot of our cues for life from them. As suicides in the celebrity circle prompt artists like Janet Jackson, Ariana Grande and Camila Cabello to reveal their mental health struggles, more of us are talking about it and trying to decrease the shame associated with it. There is no place where shame inherently lies in wait more than in culture. If we just stay in the place of celebrity-driven pop culture, we are told both directly and through subliminal advertising how being as close to perfection is the goal that we should all strive for. There are constant calls for strength as if there is no strength in submitting to the need to fall down under the weight of mental instability.

When we look at culture with a wider lens, the pressure is even more intense. Not enough has been written about mental health issues and the impact of culture, but some of the stories told include an Orthodox Jewish woman who talks about being a Jewish woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder. “Sadly, mental illness carries a lot of stigma in my community, primarily because of a lack of education and understanding. While the Orthodox Community is loving, nurturing and tight-knit, people with mental illness are sometimes treated as outsiders.”

According to a study conducted by The National Asian Women’s Health Organization, Breaking the Silence: A Study of Depression Among Asian American Women, “Conflicting cultural values are impacting Asian-American women's sense of control over their life decisions, Asian-American women witness depression in their families, but have learned from their Asian cultures to maintain silence on the subject and Asian-American women fear stigma for themselves, but more so for their families.”

In the Latino community, The Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reported “some Latinos view mental illness as a sign of weakness. Others think it’s a personal issue to be kept quiet and yet mental health disorders are prevalent among Latino ethnic groups in the U.S.”

As an African American, I am well aware of the stigma in my own community and was not surprised to read an article that shared a little-known statistic: “African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population, according to the Office of Minority Health. And yet: only about 25 percent of African Americans seek mental health care.”

I am certain so many of us can point to cultural norms and even sayings that we grew up with that indicted any talk or even thought of mental distress or illness among us. Yet, there are some signs that people want things to change. How does that happen when culture is so ingrained in us? In my own experience with depression, I found it difficult to talk about it for many years, because I was seen as such a happy, strong and inspiring woman. I was also susceptible to the message that Black people had Jesus and we didn’t need therapy. Oh yes, that is real in my community.

From a conflict stand-point, there is need for culturally responsive solutions to be put on the table in order to address the core issues that allow so many people to suffer in silence. For marginalized groups, life has always been hard and suffering in silence is a way of life and a badge of honor. For women, culture inevitably places the need to be strong and be mentally fit for motherhood, especially when it is difficult. There is no honor in pulling off the veil on “the joys of motherhood.”

So, where do you start if you feel like something is wrong, but you are bound by culture to just keep pressing on?

1. If you are experiencing the conflict of feeling like you may be dealing with some mental health issues, there are articles that can be helpful and several are referenced here. Start reading about the positive experiences of others in your cultural group who received help. This is a way to start to gain courage and recognize that you are neither alone or weak.
2. Do not compare yourself to other people. Even with similar stories, no one has your life. You are your own person even within your cultural group and you have your own physical, chemical and emotional responses to the struggles that come up. It is okay to recognize that even in a collectivist culture people are unique individuals who can experience the same event differently.
3. Find someone that you can share your experience with that you trust. It can be hard to trust your innermost feelings with someone else, especially if you feel like you are betraying your culture. It is important though to try. Talking to one person can be your first step toward reaching out to the mental health community for help.
4. Seek out culturally responsive ways of help. It is challenging to find mental health assistance that is knowledgeable and trained to gear their work to respond to cultures outside of the dominant White U.S. culture, but they are out there. You have to set it as a requirement for yourself and ask for it, because it is still not a question that will be asked of you by everyone trying to assist you. It’s perfectly okay to ask.
5. Believe that you are not wrong for what you are experiencing or for wanting help. This is tough if the culture has already convinced you that you have to be a certain way in order to be a real member of the culture. Believe it anyway and get yourself some help.

Culture plays such a valuable role in shaping us, supporting us, nurturing us and guiding us, but it also keeps us locked in the past when it comes to certain issues. It is important for more of us to share our mental health stories in order to break culture and save our own lives.