Mental Health Support

TexasTowelie

(112,074 posts) Thu Oct 22, 2020, 12:14 AM Oct 2020

Here's how we can fight the stigma of depression together

by Heather Loeb

I was diagnosed with major depression and anxiety 20-plus years ago after losing my beloved grandmother to cancer. I felt embarrassed, ashamed and I didn’t tell hardly anyone, not even my parents. Somewhere along the way, and I don’t know where, I started subscribing to the belief that people with depression are weak and lazy – that they are less than, even.

So, I struggled unnecessarily in silence for almost two decades because of the dangerous stigma that surrounds depression (and other mental disorders).

Sadly, I’m not alone when it comes to buying into the stigma of mental health. Even though there are more than 17 million adults in the U.S. suffering from depression, the stigma thrives, especially in African American and Latinx cultures. This is due to a number of things, including language barriers, socio-economic background, lack of insurance, misinformation about depression and a lack of understanding among these cultures that depression is a real disease with physiological symptoms.

Adding to the stigma is the idea of “machismo” which plagues men, particularly men of Mexican descent. They believe they have to be tough and restricted in their emotions, but studies have found that those who live by that code end up having higher levels of depression and stress.

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