Fear of being arrested and deported, family separation, and poverty just some of the daily anxieties faced by an estimated 11 million undocumented people living in the U.S. The stress can also take a toll on mental health.
Cynthia Pizana came to the US from Mexico as a child with her mother fleeing poverty and domestic abuse. Despite living in an equally impoverished and violent household with her mother’s second husband once they got to the US Pizana’s aspirations were sky high.
“Because parents feed it into you; You are going to be a doctor, you are going to be a lawyer” she says
When Pizana wasn’t helping her mother clean houses to save enough money to get out of that abusive marriage she was studying hard to get into a good university and was even chosen to represent her school in Washington DC for a government expedition program- that was when her mother told her she was not an American Citizen.
“All the dreams that you ever have are nothing! I wanted to be so much, I wanted to be a psychologist that was the thing I was going to be and how was I suppose to do it if I am not even eligible for scholarships at all, it doesn’t matter. So it is just point less why go to school, why do anything? If you are just going to end up being some cook at some sketchy restaurant or cleaning some rich persons house” she says
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_evMat1U278&feature=youtu.be
Pizana was accepted into a university but she couldn’t keep up with the fees and dropped out after a year and isn’t planning to go back any time soon. So she works as a Spanish interpreter and shares a house with friends in Las Cruces.
According to a 2012 research paper by American Behavior scientist undocumented youth who discover their status in adolescence often struggle to stay motivated as they become aware of barriers to opportunity and the uncertainty of their future in the US or with their families.
New Mexico State University Family & Child Science professor Kourtney Vaillancourt says the psychological impact of living undocumented goes even further...and can adversely affect mental health.
"There is those additional stressors of being seperated from family, there is the stressors of kind of living in an ambigious state where you are not exactly sure what is going to happen. You may not have you know plans for the future, you can't plan because you don't know what is going to happen. So certainly there would be a increased risk for depression anxiety" she says.
When Pizana was 19 years old she was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder which she says is basically schrizophrenia, depression and anxiety all rolled into one.
“The biggest issue is the hallucination s because it trips you out, when you are walking in the dark from home and you suddenly see this demonic figure or this creepy guy just staring at you and your are like are they there or not?“ she says
The precise biological and environmental causes of schizoaffective disorder are not fully understood- but are believed to be a combination of genetics and early exposure to detrimental social environments and high stress conditions growing up.
Pizana says she has to take as many 6 different medications to keep on top of it, medications that she wouldn’t be able to afford if she stopped working full time and went back to college.
“Those are expensive medications and I get help from my work because I get really good insurance and my insurances covers it” she says
President Obama's executive action in 2012 to provide relief to some children who came to the US illegally allowed Pizana to get access to health care. And it gave her the papers she needed to get a full time job with health benefits along with protection from deportation but that protection is not long term.
Pizana’s greatest anxiety is just what the future holds for her and her mixed immigration status family once that temporary relief expires.
“I do not like to think about it" she says
Pizana doesn’t want to get sent back to a country she can’t even remember and is worried about the cost and accessibility of mental health care and the stigma attached to mental illness - in Mexico.
“It can either go two ways; either you are possessed by Satan, which is pretty wild and colorful I guess or your one of those crazy people in the corner that end up drinking to drown out your issues. It is not frequent that people get the treatment that they should. It is a very hush hush situation, people don’t talk about it or get treated they ignore it” she says
Despite the higher psychiatric risk factors associated with being undocumented....studies show mental health services are underutilized by those living in the United States without legal status.
Fortunately, Pizana can access help thanks to President Obama's relief. And those services are crucial...the Mayo clinic notes people with schizoaffective disorder are at increased risk for significant health problems, substance abuse, and suicide.