Mental Health Stigma in the South Asian Community: A South Asian Therapist’s Personal Experience & Tips on How to Talk to Your Parents About Mental Health
Are you afraid of speaking with your parents about the struggles you have been experiencing in your life? Do you feel that your parents won't take your mental health seriously? It definitely can be a challenging factor in the South Asian Community to speak about mental health. Mental health was not a topic that existed in the South Asian community as many of our immigrant parents didn't believe in it.
Growing up, it was very difficult for me to speak to my parents about mental health. Everytime, they saw me sad, upset or depressed. They would default to “Oh you will be fine. Let's go out for dinner. It will make you feel better.” But in reality I wasn't really “ok.” My parents definitely cared, but they just thought it was something temporary that would go away. When they were growing up, there was no conversation about depression, anxiety, trauma etc. As a therapist, it has been my job to help them understand the importance of mental health.
Here, I will talk about 3 tips on how you can speak with your South Asian parents about mental health.
3 Tips on How to Speak With Your South Asian Parents About Mental Health
1. Understand how and why you want to have this conservation with your parents.
You have to really think about how you are going to start the conversation with your parents, knowing that they don’t have any knowledge about mental health. Before speaking to your parents, set goals for yourself and how you want to achieve them. This will make the conservation easier because you are looking forward to something that is achievable and attainable. It’s motivating for yourself.
Weighing out the pros and cons of conservation is also important. South Asian parents are connected and often live in intergenerational households. It is often difficult to have these private conservations with a family system like this. Consider where you would like to hold this conversation.
2. Come prepared with factual information, examples and descriptions to discuss with your parents.
Remember, your parents have no knowledge of mental health, so you really want to come prepared with information that is accurate and helpful. For example: Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone speaks about her depression/anxiety in the media and how she went through tough times when going through a breakup. Giving your parents that knowledge and explaining to them that mental health does exist regardless of race, gender, ethnicity can be helpful.
You can also speak in the native language so your parents understand the information you are presenting about mental health better.
3. Use “I” statements to help get your point across & make it easier for you and them.
Positive and effective communication is very helpful when speaking with your parents on this topic. This can also make it easier for you to communicate your thoughts and feelings. Using “I” statements focuses on you as the person and no one else. This is what you have experienced, not someone else. The point is to focus on how you feel in the most natural way.
If you do not want to be afraid of talking about mental health with your parents, you have to start by having good and clear communication. South Asian parents often want you to have a parent-child relationship with them, but breaking that norm can help build a strong relationship with them. As a first generation South Asian mental health therapist I will do my best in discussing the importance of mental health and how it is and will be beneficial in the community.
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Written by: Sabah Khalid, LGPC
Sabah is a South Asian therapist at LifeSpring Counseling Services who is fluent in English, Urdu, and Punjabi. Sabah understands just how beneficial it can be to work with someone who understands your cultural background and experiences while also having the ability to speak with you in your native language.
Photo Credit: Anna Pou and Albert Rafael on Pexels
Date of download: 5/13/24
