We all have multiple identity markers that make us uniquely us and that shape our lives and experiences. When it comes to understanding our experiences with mental health, appreciating these influences helps us better understand our strengths in well-being, our disparities in exposure to harm, and differences in barriers to and opportunities for support. When we see mental health in this context, new frameworks and needs emerge:
Intersectionality is an identity strength rather than being an “other” or “not being enough” of one identity
Representation in and accessibility to mental health services and supports matter greatly>
Exploration and self-investigation into identity is often key to personal and community resilience.
When people identify as “bi” (e.g., biracial, bisexual) or “multi” or are moving in between identities (e.g., immigrants, refugees, gender transitioning) can also have unique challenges and opportunities to well-being. When they sometimes find themselves in a “betwixt/between” state, they find they are not fully embraced by one identity or even rejected outright. This experience of disconnection can cause distress.
In this podcast, Emily Unity invites us to sit in the in between and get comfortable being uncomfortable.
About Emily Unity
Emily Unity (she/they) is a mental health professional, software developer, and multidisciplinary creative. They are also a queer, culturally diverse, and neurodiverse young person. Emily endeavors to use both their professional and lived experience to help design a world for all people, regardless of background, identity, or neurodiversity.
https://www.emilyunity.com/mentalhealth
Show Notes
Emily’s resources:
Multicultural Minds Podcast: https://www.emilyunity.com/mentalhealth/multicultural-minds
ADHD and the “Model Minority” Mask: https://www.emilyunity.com/mentalhealth/adhd-and-the-model-minority-myth-adhd-aha
LGBTQIA+ Youth Mental Health https://www.emilyunity.com/mentalhealth/lgbtqia-youth-mental-health-reelise
Other information:
Safe Online Spaces: https://www.orygen.org.au/About/News-And-Events/2021/Welcome-to-SafeSpace-%E2%80%93-a-space-of-hope-and-recover
Imposter Syndrome, and Intersectional Approach: https://zenerations.org/2020/09/08/imposter-syndrome-an-intersectional-approach/
Lived Experience Leadership Network: https://community.lelan.org.au/events
Carson and Sally - a sibling love story and interpretive dance: https://youtu.be/96JTJitRt74