100 Latina Birthdays

 Being diagnosed with ADHD can feel like a  complicated and isolating experience—but for Vanessa, her ADHD diagnosis as a 28-year-old Latina gave her much-needed clarity.   Vanessa spent most of her life questioning why "simple" tasks were so challenging. She knew something was not right, so she sought out a psychiatrist who specializes in anxiety disorders. 

In this episode, reporter Carmen Marquez explores the challenges of receiving a correct ADHD diagnosis, the cultural misconceptions that prevent parents from acknowledging the illness, and how embracing a diagnosis can lead to self-empowerment and healing.

Nearly 80% of Latino youth suffer childhood trauma, but many don’t start actively healing and acknowledging adverse childhood events until later in life – often when they start showing up as physical symptoms – stomach pains, headaches, racing heart rates. Some Latinas are starting to recognize the inextricable link between the mind and body, and reconnecting to ancestral medicine to heal. But in the process of offering a deeper healing, compassionate practice to their communities, they are also discovering the depth of problems created by a Western medical system that centers profit over care.

Nearly 21.4% of Hispanic and Latino adults report having a mental illness. In this episode, Juleyka Lantigua, the creator of our show, sits down for a roundtable discussion with two mental health practitioners to discuss some of the most prevalent mental health issues among Latinas and to unpack how Latinas understand and cope with their mental wellbeing. Generalized anxiety disorder, major depression, and PTSD––the panel gets into it all. Gabriela Livas Stein, PhD, is Professor and Chair of Human Development and Family Sciences at UT Austin. and the Principal Investigator at CAMINOS Lab. Catalina Fortich, MS, LMFT, is a clinician in private practice and owner of Safe Place Therapy.