The Anxiety I Can’t Express
Mental health talk has been taboo among Latinx people for too long
While we know anxiety is on the rise in the U.S. — especially among kids and teens — the anxiety that plagues Latinx people is very distinct from that of other groups.
My anxiety is basically this: scared when my husband goes to work, apprehensive to read the morning news, distressed and angered by White people who constantly question my place of birth and feeling hopeless over the handling of asylum seekers. Anxiety looms, but I have no other choice but to keep going. While this issue for Latinx people can vary between the undocumented and documented, it is still there, persistent and constant.
I’ve had two major anxiety attacks. The first (senior year of college) was a sheer panic that I experienced at a movie theater. I had no idea what was happening to me. The second attack came when I was in my 20s, and that felt completely different. I felt a sharp sensation of vertigo that prevented me from once again being in an enclosed space. That last attack drove me to see a therapist for the first time. After years of talking things out, it became clear that I, and all of my siblings, suffer from deep anxiety related to fear of abandonment.
My parents did do a lot for us. They worked damn…
