Como Se Siente Being A Latina With Anxiety
Let’s talk about being Latina and experiencing anxiety. Struggling with anxiety (los nervios o ansiedad) looks different for everyone which is why it’s important to identify how anxiety looks and feels like for you. Here’s the chisme from a Latina therapist:
Physically it can feel like a headache, stomach pain or digestive issues, chest pain, dizziness, trouble focusing, tingling sensations, trouble sleeping, heart beating faster, trouble breathing, feeling hot or warm, or like your muscles are very tense.
Even though there is research that supports this, through the work I’ve done in my predominantly Latine(o,a,x) community I have been able to observe first hand how a majority of Latinas tend to focus more on physical symptoms. By focusing on the physical pain, often times it gets written off as just being a pain (dolor) that will go away on it’s own, or with a té de manzanilla or Vicks. Although these can be great activities for relaxation, untreated anxiety in an unmanaged state won’t just go away. In reality, there may be a connection and anxiety is manifesting itself as physical symptoms too. You are not meant to constantly feel like this. You are not broken or loca for experiencing this.
What it means is that your mind and body feel overwhelmed and anxiety is trying to protect you from what your body has labeled as harmful, instead of serving it’s purpose to warn you of real danger. For example if you were walking at night and noticed something charging toward you, anxiety would kick in and warn you, letting your body know that it’s time to react to run and protect yourself. Sometimes an anxiety disorder or anxiety in an unmanaged state can manifest itself after traumatic events, or if you’ve been exposed to consistent stress that you don’t have the tools to cope with. Sometimes old ways of coping simply aren’t working anymore.
What You Can Do
Observation: A good place to start is with observation and becoming aware of your symptoms. Write down your symptoms when you begin to feel anxious. Write down what you were doing or thinking about before these symptoms presented themselves. Was there a conversation or situation that triggered you?
Seek Therapy Services: Partner with a therapist you can feel comfortable with so that you can begin healing and working on your anxiety. Seeking a Latine therapist who can understand the cultural nuances can also be beneficial.
