Saher's Story:

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South Asians dismissal of mental health issues is dangerous and rampant. Not only do we need to be monitoring our own mental health, we need to be monitoring our parents as well. Why are our families obsessed with the perception of "perfection". To have the best children, with the best careers, the best education, the best spouse, the best home, the best salaries. We look down upon any human characteristic that makes us look weak to others. We try and hide it. Why are we so silent about these issues? Why do we tip toe around those who tell us about their issues or when they come and tell you the are depressed? Why do we reduce their legitimate illness to "Oh because you don't pray enough" or "Oh you must've gotten nazar (evil eye). Why do we have this constant narrative of dismissal of legitimate concerns about ones mental health? Why are we so afraid to admit that we can be physically ill, AS MUCH AS we can be mentally unstable. Why have we stigmatized and made a taboo of discussion of things like depression, anxiety and so much more? To me personally, mental health issues hit close to home. 

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I have a younger brother who is Autistic. There were always challenges and particular stigmas that I grew up noticing in our community in regards to my younger brother. The south asian community tends to overlook and ignore mental illnesses, mental health and other developmental disorders such as Autism (which is a spectrum). The difficulties of raising an autistic child was strenuous and demanding enough, dealing with a community that stigmatized an autistic child was exasperating. In our community, we need to stop stigmatizing discussion of mental health. Whether a loved one or an individual in our particular community and society is suffering from depression, other mental health illnesses or developmental disorders we need to be able to give them the support network and proper intervention they need!