Mental Health of Immigrants

Mental health has been a topic of discussion as of recently, and it only ever gets broader the more mainstream society recognizes that a smile does not equal mental stability. A survey done by the American Psychology Association revealed that 48% of Americans reach out to some sort of mental health wellness resource. However, there is a minority that, though makes up about 13% of the total U.S population, have rarely, if ever, been involved in the discussion of mental health wellness. These people are immigrants. Though this is a broad term used to describe groups of Latinos, Asians, and others from various cultures, their struggles as immigrants forces them to bear a similar issue: they are more likely to neglect their mental health as they aren’t able to talk about it.

For one, immigrants face the struggle of adapting to a new environment. They may speak another language at home versus at work, making it difficult to understand American colloquialism. Additionally, being raised in a different environment creates customary experiences for immigrants that can be foreign to non-immigrants, thus making it harder to acclimate to the American culture. For example, as immigrants, my family in Oregon have trouble relating to many in their community because our traditions differ; our food, family celebrations, and other cultural aspects contrast from the ones of our non-immigrant neighbors. These cultural differences felt by immigrants can be alienating and thus worsen mental health due to the struggles of adapting.

Similarly, discrimination exacerbate the difficulties of immigrants adapting to a new world. A recent study shows that 45% of Asian immigrants have faced increased discrimination in time of the COVID-19 pandemic. People have used Asians (AAPI) as a scapegoat for the cause of the pandemic. Many individuals harassed at this time were immigrants, or were from immigrant families. They faced mental and

physical injuries because of their race and evidently weren’t treated as “true” American citizens. The words and actions, along with predisposed stereotypes formulated against the Asian community made it harder for them to cope with everyday life which, in turn, negatively affected their mental health.

Not to mention, children of immigrants also face greater risks than children of non-immigrants. These children of immigrants may become conflicted between the traditions of their native culture and of American society.

As time progresses, we as a society should be more involved in the discussion of mental health. It is important to reach out to those who learned to be silent about their mental well-being. We should also use this information to help increase the percentage of American immigrants reaching out for help; it is not easy to break away from the stigma against mental health but with cooperation from everyone, it is possible to make a change.