Sharan Guruparan's Story:

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My Name is Sharaneya Guruparan and I'm 23 years old. I am Canadian - Tamil and my Parents are from Sri Lanka. As a South Asian, mental health has always been really heard to talk about till I was about 21. Depression runs in both sides of my family, yet is never addressed. As Tamils, we are raised to believe Mental Health is a scary issue and if you have any sort of mental health concern, it should be silenced or avoided completely. The issue I find with Tamils specifically is that our parents and first generation Tamils were never given the tools and opportunity to explore their own mental health which I think has lead to this fear of the unknown. My parents have only openly started speaking about these issues after I came out about my own anxiety and depression. After coming to terms with my depression and being suicidal twice both in my teens and my twenties, I would say it's been a much easier process in finding more solutions or attempting to treat it early. 

 

However, even in 2018 I think it's still an ongoing learning process for both second generation Canadian Tamils and parents. My sister went to her family doctor who is a well known Tamil family physician in Toronto about her anxiety and ADD and was told to do yoga instead of being taken seriously. Certain physicians don't have the tools in assessing mental health and treating clients who come to them with concerns because exploring this side of health is still new and not as easily explained as it is by certified psychiatrists, therapists and counsellors. This makes it more uncomfortable for South Asian people to come out and talk about what their facing and can lead to serious and difficult consequences. As a community, I think if we spoke more about thees issues and our own experiences, it will take away the stigma around the issue and create more safe spaces for folks to be more open. This will also lead to understanding that mental health should be treated with the same seriousness as Physical Health.