Episode 10: "Le Botó la Canica"

Hey vecino,I was 48 years old when I was diagnosed with ADHD.Cuarenta y ocho.And when I told my tío — who happens to be a retired psychologist — his response was: “Oh… I could’ve told you that.”So I asked why he never said anything.And he said: “Did you not know who your parents were?”I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. So I did both.Because that answer said everything. Not just about my parents. But about an entire culture that loves deeply — and still doesn’t always have the language for what its people are actually carrying.That moment opened something up in me. And it’s what this episode is really about.Because a lot of us grew up in families where mental health didn’t get called mental health. It got called something else entirely.“Le botó la canica.” “Está mal de la cabeza.” “Nomás está exagerando.” “Le falta oración.” “Ocúpate y se te quita.”And if you heard any of those phrases growing up — directed at yourself or someone you loved — this episode is for you.In Episode 10 of the Entre Mundos Podcast I get personal. More personal than I have in any episode this season. I talk about my own journey with anxiety, ADHD, and the 21 years it took me to finally walk into a therapy room. I talk about what my mom said when I told her about my first panic attack. And I talk about the mirror moment at 39 that changed everything.This isn’t just my story though. It’s the story of a lot of us who grew up in families that loved us and still didn’t have the tools to help us.LISTEN TO EPISODE 10https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/entre-mundos-podcast/id1889591391https://www.youtube.com/@EntreMundosCollectivehttps://open.spotify.com/show/0HUrOsWxNmgcT7vqrad9O5?si=447708b5e066468eWHAT YOU’LL HEAR IN THIS EPISODEWhy Latino families dismiss mental health struggles — and why it comes from survival not crueltyThe phrases we grew up hearing and what they were really communicatingHow spiritual explanations can become a way of avoiding what someone actually needsWhat it costs a person to go 21 years without real supportWhy getting help is one of the most courageous things a bicultural Latino can doKEY LINE FROM THIS EPISODE“Getting support is not weakness. It’s not a betrayal of your culture. It’s not a sign that your faith isn’t strong enough. It’s one of the most courageous things a person can do — especially when nobody around you gave you permission to do it first.”WANT TO GO DEEPER?Tomorrow on Substack I’m posting an article that goes deeper into what’s actually happening in Latino families when mental health gets dismissed, spiritualized, or redirected — and why the person who ends up holding the pain is rarely the one who created it.If the episode opens the door, the article walks through it.Keep an eye out for it mañana.And one more thing — I’m taking Memorial Day off. No new episode that Monday. But I’ll be back with Episode 11 on June 1st. Don’t miss it.If someone came to mind while reading this — someone who was always labeled “the problem,” who was told to pray it away, who never got a real explanation for what they were carrying — compártelo. Send it their way.Porque a lot of us feel this. We just never had the words for it.Un abrazote fuerte.Tu vecino, John Eli This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit entremundoscollective.substack.com