With minority mental health month in full effect, we can all agree that there are factors that hold us back from seeking assistance with our mental health. We all come from different cultures and subcultures and oftentimes these groups carry their own mental health stigmas.

Highly stressful or traumatic events that occur within generations impact individuals differently and their response to the trauma are shown to pass on to the next generation. This is known as intergenerational trauma.

As black and brown people in this country, we are familiar with feeling othered by those around us. Usually it’s based on skin color, ethnicity and race: visibly obvious differences. Another layer to feeling othered happens when queer people of color come out. In these situations, they may go from being othered as people in this country to being othered in their own culture, community and families.