Mental health has been at the forefront of many discussions due to the pandemic and all the disruptions it has caused. But for some, the topic of mental health is one that tends to be pushed to the corner. According to a Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, in the United States, 28% of Puerto Ricans, 13% of Mexican Americans and 10% of Cuban Americans had symptoms of depression – yet only 10% of these people actually seek help from a mental health provider.
Tais Solis, a 20-year-old student at Wichita State University from Mexican heritage considers herself to be someone who often deals with depression.
“I have days where I am extremely happy and outgoing, other days I just want to cry and not be around anyone because I am not feeling happy,” Solis said. Growing up, she felt that she could not speak about these thoughts with her family because she feared being judged or not understood. As Solis grew older and surrounded herself with friends of different backgrounds, she realized she was not alone.
“My parents are hard-core Mexicans,” Samuel Covarrubias, a 24-year-old Wichita State University student, said. “I love how passionate they are about their culture, but it makes it hard sometimes to be able to talk to them about certain issues they don’t consider important or even understand.” Covarrubias also suffers from depression. During the COVID-19 shutdown, Covarrubias felt like his depression got worse. “It was definitely a difficult time [COVID-19 shutdown] especially because I felt very alone since I could not see my friends,” Covarrubias said.
“I feel like not being able to hang out with my friends as often definitely has contributed to me feeling depressed more often,” Covarrubias said. “I am stuck at home a lot of the time and the only people I can talk to and vent about my issues with are my family members.” Covarrubias has used the extra time alone with his family to educate his parents and siblings about mental health issues.
Read more at TheSunflower.com.
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