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."