This post was sponsored by Bring Change 2 Mind. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
When was the last time you had a conversation about your mental health with your family? Your parents? Your grandparents? Your siblings? In Latino culture, mental health is not something we talk about regularly. We can be passionate to a fault and we care for and love our families more than anything, but when it comes time to have difficult conversations, it can be easy to freeze up and avoid it all together.
The stigma behind addressing mental illness is very real and a big issue in American and Latino culture. Living in Chicago is a huge reminder that not enough mental health resources are readily available for underserved populations, and in many instances they’re the ones who need help the most. From the homeless population, incarceration rates and senseless violence in the city, getting past the stigma behind seeking and obtaining health for mental illness is really a matter of life or death.
Bring Change 2 Mind is working to change all of that through their Mind Our Future campaign. Their website features personal stories to help reduce the stigma associated with mental illness and encourage others to get the help and support they need. You can also submit a personal story about your experience with mental illness or caring for someone who has a mental illness. This sort of dialogue is hugely important in helping normalize these stories of mental illness and give those who are suffering the courage to seek help.
Check out their video incorporating these stories of mental illness set to the song “Ghost Story” by artist Whitney Woerz. And learn more about what you can do to join Bring Change 2 Mind to make mental illness and mental health a topic of conversation for all of our families.
If you or someone you know needs immediate help, please call the Crisis Hotline: 800.273.TALK (8255).
