“There’s a stigma in this country about mental illness. I mean depression anxiety, OCD, bipolar, they’re hard to diagnose, so people don’t always appreciate that they’re serious problems, but they are.” Mental health is a medical issue that can affect anyone, no matter their age, race, or ethnicity, yet there are still disparities in the treatment that individuals receive. While medical professionals have made immense progress on the research and understanding of mental health and illness, there is still a void that needs to be filled between mental health professionals and mentally ill minorities. A vital component that has been greatly overlooked is the impact of an individual’s cultural beliefs on their approach and methods of dealing with mental illness. Studies have shown that minority groups such as African Americans, Asians, and Hispanics are less likely to seek and receive mental health services due to the stigmas attached to their ethnicities and past cultural beliefs. Medical professionals may have a general understanding of the scientific workings of mental illness, however, it is vital that mental health care workers understand the cultural history of an individual and the impact that their history can have on a person’s psychiatric health. Within the United States, approximately 18% of adults are known to have a diagnosable mental illness and approximately 4% of adults have a serious mental illness, however, of those adults that have been diagnosed only an estimated 43% actually seek mental health treatment or counseling. Along with less than half of the US seeking mental health treatment, less than 20% of minority groups openly and willingly seek medical assistance for mental illnesses. When minorities dealing with mental illness are bombarded with stigmas regarding the connection between their illness and race, they tend to stray away from mental health professionals. These stigmas stem greatly from cultural backgrounds and how different ethnicities view and handle mental illness. Attaching a stigma can prevent those who are mentally ill from seeking the medical help they need and cause discrimination in a variety of settings. As said by the World Health Organization, stigma and discrimination of mentally ill people is “the single most important barrier to overcome in the community.” People fail to take into account the impact that an individual’s background can have on their willingness to actively seek treatment. Through studies, researchers have been able to prove how mental illness stigmas can impact how psychological disorders are approached and handled. An example found in a study on Asians found that within Asian culture, there is high value in “conformity to norms, emotional self-control [and] family recognition through achievement”. When those participants were asked about their willingness to marry a person that had a mental disorder, less than 20% responded with “being willing to”; that rate further decreased when asked if they would marry someone with a genetic mental disorder. Because of predetermined cultural beliefs, they automatically attached a stigma to mental health and illness. Another way stigmas have played an important role within this issue is within the medical field; many African Americans and Latinos have expressed reluctance to seeking professional help due to the stigmas and discrimination they have experienced in the past within the medical field. If the medical world wants to find the most effective way to help those suffering from mental illness, it’s important that they identify and study the cultural and ethnic stigmas connected to mental health and how it impacts the individual treatment experience. Many people view mental health as an individual experience, yet what needs to be understood is that it is an issue that is connected to biological and genetic factors, psychology, and society. Cultural influences can affect the manner in which people cope with mental illnesses; mental disorders are handled subjectively based on how cultural beliefs have perceived and handled it in the past. Kenya Barris’ Grown-ish episode “Only Human,” exemplifies how a person’s ethnic culture can influence how they manage and identify mental health. In this episode, it is established that a college student attempted to commit suicide due to undiagnosed depression. Although his character is not one of the most essential to the show, his attempted suicide helps demonstrate the idea that has been proven by researchers: minority and immigrant populations are more likely to display physical symptoms rather than psychological symptoms of mental illness. The rise in minority deaths in the US due to mental illness displays the crucial nature of creating a better understanding of the significance of an individual’s cultural beliefs on mental health practices. Although the attempted suicide in Grown-ish is brief, it illustrates the misconception about the essence of mental disorders within the minority population. As Barris dives deeper into the episode, one of the main characters brings together a community of African Americans to discuss mental health and have a wellness check with everyone. While talking, one student says, “If I had a problem, I wouldn’t sit around here, being sad and anxious. I’m gonna either pray it out, I’m-a sweat it out,… or if that don’t work, I’m gonna light up.” His response to the idea of having a discussion about mental health is an integral example of how an individual’s culture has shaped and impacted their approach to mental health. Growing up in African American culture, the audience observes how the stigma against mental health that is considered being “crazy” or “mad” has influenced his approach; rather than seeking medical help, he decides to handle it in a way that would be considered culturally acceptable. It’s important that medical professionals present mental health care services in culturally sensitive ways in order to make it more accessible to a variety of individuals no matter their race or ethnicity. Just as a doctor would look at a patient’s genetic history, it is essential that mental health professionals look at an individual’s cultural background to ensure the proper treatment and diagnosis is provided. When people finally begin to recognize the role of culture on mental illness, it’s then important that they use that information to devise a plan that improves mental illness treatment on the national and international scale. The one component that would have the most impact and bring the most change is scaling up of mental health care services; within that scaling up, it must be monitored closely, sensitive to cultural context, accompanied by extensive research, and supported by adequate funding. Improving mental health care is no easy feat but it is one that could have a positive influence in a number of forms. A simple yet complicated action that could make an immense difference is incorporating certain aspects of mental health care into the primary health care system. By implementing it into the primary health care system, it could help remove some of the stigmas connected to mental illness and make certain cultures more comfortable with requesting medical health. The World Health Organization has offered many suggestions that can be implemented here in the United States as well as around the world; some recommendations that they have offered to counties are limiting the number of of mental hospitals, building community mental health services, developing mental health services in general hospitals, integrating mental health services into primary care, building informal community mental health services, and promoting self-care. These are not guaranteed methods to improving mental health care, but they are practices that consider the impact and role that culture plays when someone is battling a mental illness. When health professionals improve their knowledge and methods, the health of the country can be improved. Consider the influence that culture has on a person’s day-to-day decisions and character. When taking into account the weight that culture carries even on such small entities, it illustrates the reality of the role that culture can play when dealing with mental illness. Many aspects can influence a person’s journey with mental illness, but one of the aspects that has the most influence has been the most over looked. Culture is such a subjective and abstract concept that it can be hard to pinpoint, however, it’s important to identify this quality in order to provide successful and meaningful treatment. Minority groups within the United States have dealt with mental disorders in a variety of ways, yet none of them have helped improve the statistics that plagues these communities on a daily basis. Recognition is the first step to developing a quality regimen to improve mental health treatment; with recognition comes the proper steps to helping mentally ill patients. It is a process that will take an immense amount of effort and lengthy amount of time, but it’s something that must be done to better a society that has been plagued by ignorance toward the mentally ill community. Perhaps with the proper knowledge, the tragedies within the minority community that are connected to mental illness can dwindle with time.