Mental Health: Breaking Silences

Unprecedented openness about mental health challenges traditional stoicism:

• Depression from climate anxiety
• Identity confusion pressures
• Economic stress impacts
• Intergenerational trauma processing
• Social media comparison effects

"Therapy isn't weakness—it's decolonizing our minds," advocates Réunionnais psychologist-in-training David Técher. "Healing ourselves heals communities."

Youth-led initiatives respond:

• Peer support groups multiplying
• Mental health Instagram accounts
• Meditation apps in local languages
• School counseling demands
• Destigmatization campaigns

"We're first generation admitting colonization and slavery traumatized us," observes Martinican therapist Audrey Jean-Baptiste. "Naming pain begins healing."