I am 19 years old and Latino . I am also gay and live with strict conservative catholic parents. A while back when I came terms with ocd and had the realization, I decided to open up to my parents about my mental health. Let’s just say things didn’t turn out as expected , both unfortunately didn’t believe me . Also, theh believed it had to do with me being on my phone too much that I wanna believe anything I see . Neither of em wanted to listen to me . Mom said she’s sees me just fine . It was so deliberating and everything felt so collapsing because I felt anxious to tell them ebeytjjng about it , but they didn’t want to hear . So, ever since I haven’t mentioned it to them considering that . Over the past couple of months , they haven’t been so strict on me for things I didn’t want to join in on. She’s very pressuring srill about going to church and her religion. I do believe in God, but I do not interpret God way they do. I believe God loves me even if I’m gay. They will not ever accept me if I come out and I feel so alone because not only do I have to hide myself, but I have to live with this mental disorder they don’t believe of and/or know of and think I’m simply being lazy . I just want boundaries - they can treat me and view me as a child still🤷🏾‍♂️I want to become an independent adult . My goal rn is to get my drivers license and buy my car. But I literally know notning bout adult life . I am nervous, scared , worried...I do not want to rely on my parenrts all time and live with them . Everything is so hard rnn. Ocd is the one factor to all my problems .

I’m Latina too so I know exactly what you mean about parents brushing things off. I spoke with my mom the other day about my concerns and I caught myself saying “but I’m fine, there’s nothing wrong with me” and it hit me. We’re so accustomed to this way of thinking that we’re now doing it to ourselves. If we don’t seek the help we need then no one else will do it for us. I’m also a Christian and God loves you just as much as He loves me! I hope you can find the help and support that you need to get through this!

Thank you for sharing this ! I hope gore out to you too! We can get thru this !

Brother I’m so sorry you’re experiencing this. I am not gay but I do have very VERY conservative Latino parents so I can somewhat understand your pain. The homophobia and sexism runs deep and it’s one of the reasons I don’t have a close relationship with them anymore. They can be very belittling and dismissive when it comes to mental health. When I told them about my struggle they just referred to me as “el raro” lol I promise you’ll get to a point where you feel more independent and you’ll be able to branch out and control how involved they are in your life but for now try to find a therapist and a good support system. I wish you the best of luck! You are so strong! You fucking got this!

This is soooo mu h like what happened to me, the only difference was my family was a trigger for me. I can't say for sure what's the best thing to do is here, but I stopped seeing them at that age and it helped. I don't suggest running away like u did tho, maybe if you do need space from them try and get an apartment with friends or try dorm life in school.

You could Google LGBTQ sites for support and look into a good therapist for OCD 🙂

No support whatsoever with my mental disability from my parents or with me being gay 😞

Thank You so Much !

Goes^

you got this as a felllow latino man

Thank u!