How One Mental Health Advocate Is Channeling Kindness Through Storytelling

JUAN ACOSTA TALKS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTITY, REPRESENTATION, AND ACCESSIBILITY IN THE FUTURE OF MENTAL HEALTH

By Kristina Benoist

We all have incredible power to make change. Over the past few years, we’ve seen so much change in the mental health field. And a lot of it started from just one person – one mental health advocate wanting to make the world a better place to live in. For the sake of everyone’s mental health.

Juan Acosta is proof of that. He has dedicated his life to fighting for mental health with an intersectional lens. At only 23, he’s already done remarkable things in the mental health field. He’s passed a pro-LGBTQ+ proclamation in his hometown, co-authored a book with Lady Gaga, and is now working with a warmline in California — just to name a few. We sat down with him to learn more about his own mental health journey and advocacy work and to hear his views on the world of mental health as it stands today. 

IDM: How is your mental health today?

Juan: I'm doing well. I feel like I'm doing much better after finally having election results! I am trying to take care of myself as much as I can and trying to set healthy boundaries, with both social media intake and work when I'm on my days off.

IDM: Would you mind sharing a little bit about your own mental health journey?

Juan: Yeah, of course. So, I come from an immigrant family. I came to this country when I was two years old. I was born in Mexico, and growing up it was difficult trying to fit in and learn the culture in the United States and learn the English language. I was definitely targeted because of that. I was the target of a lot of bullying for being gay too, even before I was ready to admit it myself, which really impacted my mental health.

“I believe there’s a lot of power and strength in storytelling. We get to learn from one another...Oftentimes, we walk by each other and we think ‘this person will never understand me’, but the truth is that so many people have similar experiences with their mental health.”

I became really anxious and depressed. And I didn't know what I was feeling, I just knew I didn't feel good. I didn't want to worry my parents or any of my friends and there’s also this really strong idea of machismo in my culture, so I didn’t really talk to anyone about it. I just kept a lot to myself, which ended up really hurting me even more because I wasn't seeking support. And I just genuinely didn't know what mental health even was. And I didn't know where to go for support. 

IDM: What have you found has been the key to taking care of your mental health as an adult?

Juan: I think just really setting boundaries and disclosing how I’m really feeling. Sharing my story has also been really beneficial to me. I believe there's a lot of power and strength in storytelling. We get to learn from one another. I see it a lot in peer support where people are able to find common ground. Oftentimes, we walk by each other and we think ‘this person will never understand me’, but the truth is that so many people have similar experiences with their mental health. And that can bring you together with people. Finding those commonalities with other people has been so important to me. 

“I had a lot of mental health challenges growing up as a gay male because there was no message of encouragement or acknowledgement from the community...I tried to change that narrative and tried to ensure that young people who were growing up here, who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community, have that message of hope and support.”

IDM: You’ve done lots of advocacy work, but what is the one thing that’s made your proudest about your work as a mental health advocate? 

Juan: Hmm, the proudest, I would honestly say was for me when I drafted a historic LGBTQ+ proclamation for my hometown. As I said, I had a lot of mental health challenges growing up as a gay male because there was no message of encouragement or acknowledgement from the community. Just being able to do something for my community at that level was really empowering to me. It had never been done before and the city had never acknowledged the LGBTQ+ community. So prior to moving to San Francisco to pursue my higher education, I tried to change that narrative and tried to ensure that young people who were growing up here, who identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community, have that message of hope and support. 

“I feel like representation is so important, especially in mental health work. We often talk about intersectionality and culturally relevant resources, where people are able to feel like they’re being represented.”

Now a story I wrote about the drafting of that proclamation is even in a book that was recently released by Lady Gaga and her Born This Way foundation called Channel Kindness. So just that moment in particular was very touching and life-changing for me. It was scary to do at the time because I was quite young. I was 21 and I didn't know anything about proclamations or the language to draft it, but there was fire in me that identified the need for myself and for others. 

IDM: What’s the biggest thing you think needs to change in the way we talk about mental health? 

Juan: I feel like representation is so important, especially in mental health work. We often talk about intersectionality and culturally relevant resources, where people are able to feel like they're being represented. We need to bring people to the table and allow them to be leaders in this field. We should be getting real people's perspectives and including their lived experience, their opinions, and their needs for change. We have to make sure we’re not only doing things to check something off a box just to seem socially conscious. Mental health work needs to be intentional and purposeful. I feel like that's something that we can do better.

“One thing that gives me hope is seeing people, young people in particular, step up and speak out about their challenges and their needs for change.”

IDM: What's one thing that gives you hope about mental health for the future?

Juan: One thing that gives me hope is seeing people, young people in particular, step up and speak out about their challenges and their needs for change. I feel like a lot of young people have many great ideas and I've seen people create their own platforms and just be open about things they want to change. Also when I hear about campaigns and initiatives that are intentionally recognizing the need for underserved populations and their accessibility to resources, that gives me a lot of hope.