*Content warning: Contains disclosure of behaviors of self-harm.  “You are too much! And you talk too much!” was what I was told as a child when I expressed my feelings. My parents emigrated from the Philippines and wanted the best for their six children: rigorous education, fine clothing, and a spacious home. They were advised by the pediatrician not to teach us their native language, warning it would cause confusion. I pinpoint this advice as the cause for our home’s emotional deficiency. It created a dynamic of tense silences, suspicion, [...]

One of the reasons I started to work at Girard Medical Center was so I could better understand my mother’s addiction and depression. She behaved in ways I did not understand. I always wondered what made her so critical, mean, and sad. In fact, I did not understand why a lot of people in my family acted the way they did. Growing up, I heard a lot of code words being used for mental health. For example: “Don’t mess with her, she doesn't take no stuff” or “You know something [...]