8 Negative Effects of Code-Switching on Your Mental Health

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Luz Media

If you’re any kind of person of color, you’ve likely code-switched more times than you can count. Especially in professional settings. Adapting the way you speak down to the tone of your voice and vocabulary, behavior, and appearance to fit into a certain environment is a reality for most people of color. For Latina women, this cultural adaptation often becomes necessary to navigate predominantly white workplaces, where the pressure to conform to the dominant culture can be huge. While code-switching may provide short-term advantages, such as more and better career opportunities, it can also have significant psychological impacts over time. To explore that, here are 8 ways code-switching may hurt your mental health:


It May Lead to Greater Stress and Anxiety

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Constantly altering your language, tone, and appearance to meet workplace or societal expectations can lead to greater stress and anxiety. This ongoing effort to blend in with the dominant culture creates a cycle of anxiety, especially when they feel like they must monitor themselves at all times to avoid judgment or negative stereotypes. The need to be hyper-aware of how you’re perceived is mentally exhausting, especially when you’re already juggling other things, including work. This is anxiety-inducing and that anxiety can be even more intense if you’re involved in high-stress environments. Ultimately, it can affect your ability to fully engage in tasks or make confident decisions.

It May Make You Feel Inauthentic and Affect Your Sense of Identity

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Code-switching forces people of color to compartmentalize parts of their identity. It’s no surprise that leads to a sense of inauthenticity. When you have to constantly suppress your natural way of speaking or expressing your culture, it can only lead to internal conflict. Over time, this can make you feel disconnected from your authentic self and true identity. The mental burden of “playing a role” for most of your day can lead to feeling alienated from your cultural roots. Is that a fair price to pay?

It May Cause Burnout and Emotional Fatigue

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Photo by Mikhail Nilov

The emotional labor of constantly adjusting speech, appearance, and behavior requires a lot of mental energy. Latinas and other POCs may feel like they’re performing, often for hours on end. So it’s not surprising to feel exhausted at the end of the day or whatever occasion you were exposed to that made you decide to code-switch. This fatigue can eventually lead to burnout, especially at work, making you feel disconnected. This is why working in places that lack cultural inclusivity isn’t sustainable in the long term. You will eventually feel overworked and emotionally depleted.

It May Lead to Imposter Syndrome

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Imposter syndrome, the psychological phenomenon where people doubt their own achievements and fear they’re frauds, is very common among people who code-switch. Code-switching can deepen your feelings of imposter syndrome because you know you’re being inauthentic. For example, Latinas often worry about being “not Latina enough” in predominantly white spaces, while simultaneously worrying about being “too Latina” for professional success. This dual pressure can make it hard to develop a sense of confidence in their abilities and achievements.

It May Cause Social Isolation

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People of color who frequently code-switch may feel socially isolated both in the workplace and in their personal lives. In trying to fit into a corporate culture, it’s common for them to hold back from sharing cultural experiences or engaging in casual conversations that reflect their heritage. This can make it harder to form meaningful connections with coworkers or to feel fully integrated into the workplace community.

It May Have a Negative Impact on Work Performance

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When you focus a lot of mental energy on code-switching, your work performance can suffer. The pressure to self-monitor can be a major distraction from job responsibilities, not to mention the mental strain of code-switching can reduce focus, making you less productive. The constant mental balancing act may also make you more hesitant to share your innovative ideas or offer leadership contributions, ultimately limiting your professional growth.

It May Cause Long-Term Psychological Damage

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Being labeled as "acting white" can lead to long-term psychological harm. People of color who frequently code-switch may experience a sense of not belonging in either their cultural community or their workplace. Over time, this disconnect can result in feelings of alienation, loneliness, and even identity confusion. When you feel like you don’t fit in anywhere, it can create insecurities that run deep. It can also lead to mental health issues like anxiety or even depression.

It’s Simply Less Joyful!

woman looking defeated

Photo by Engin Akyurt

Perhaps the worst thing about code-switching is that it may steal you of your joy. For example, Latinas are often vibrant and expressive women with rich cultural traditions and values. Dimming your own light to fit into a certain context can take a big emotional toll on you. When you have to deny your cultural pride, you’re denying an important part of yourself. How can that lead to joy or satisfaction?

While code-switching can feel like a necessary evil to do well at work or fit into social situations, the psychological cost may be too high to pay. Holding workplaces and society at large accountable for their lack of inclusivity could be a much better use of our energy!

This Viral Video Game Is Changing the Face of Voter Outreach

In 2024, voting campaigns have evolved greatly, to say the least. Creativity is now the name of the game and tongue-in-cheek humor is expertly leveraged to drive action. One example of that is Bop the Bigot, a revival of a viral game created in 2016 by Bazta Arpaio, an Arizona activist group, as part of a campaign to unseat Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio lost his re-election to Paul Penzone that year.

The game has now been updated for the current election cycle and relaunched by On Point Studios, with new features added to enable players to find out what’s on their ballot, confirm voter status, and register to vote.

Much like its former 2016 version, the game allows users to take out their political frustrations by virtually “bopping” GOP candidates in the head. It’s very similar to whack-a-mole, except the mole is replaced by former President Donald Trump, Ohio’s Senator J. D. Vance, and Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation, which is spearheading Project 2025.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

B. Loewe, Director of On Point Studios, came up with the concept for this game when working as the Communications Director at Bazta Arpaio in 2016, and is the executive producer of this revamped version. In the first version of the game, Bop the Bigot players used a chancla (flip flop) to “bop” the characters, tapping into Latino culture by leaning on the childhood experience of being set right by a flying chancla from a fed-up mother or grandmother.

This year, the chancla is replaced by a more current element, a green coconut, referencing Kamala Harris’ coconut tree meme. There are also side characters like “the couch,” cat ladies, and more coconuts. All references to jokes about Vice-Presidential candidate Vance, or insults Vance has made about women on the campaign trail.

Another new addition is that Harris’ laugh is immortalized as the game-over sound effect, an unexpected detail that adds even more humor and levity to the game.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump, Kevin Roberts, and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

Bop the Bigot, which is playable on desktop and mobile, is intended not just as a way to vent political frustrations, but also as a tool for activism and securing voter engagement.

For example, the game supports the work of Mexican Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, Founding Executive Director of the non-profit organization Organized Power in Numbers by using the “game over” screen to prompt players to donate to it and support their efforts.

Organized Power in Numbers is focused on empowering workers in the South and Southwest of the U.S. through collective action and comprehensive campaigns. Their mission is to create a large-scale movement that challenges the status quo and advocates for workers' rights, and racial and economic justice.

Currently, Dominguez Zamorano is leading worker outreach to 2 million working-class voters in the South and Southwest through doorknocking, texting, and calls with the help of local groups in North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, and more.

“We have been blown away by the enthusiastic reception for the video game. We knew we wanted to be part of its creative approach because our movement needs more fun and laughter. We need more ways to connect with nuestra gente so we can feel joy among all the absurdity we witness every day,” Dominguez Zamorano shared with Luz Media via email.

“Our people are gente trabajadora and we deserve to feel uplifted even in our toughest moments. We are deeply involved in the South and Southwest so we know what’s at stake in this election and we’re happy this can be a resource to mobilize, raise spirits, and get out the vote," she concluded.

Dominguez Zamorano is a committed activist for immigrants and workers' rights, known for her strategist skills and expertise. She played a key role in the campaign to win DACA and has also held roles in major campaigns, including as Deputy National States Director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. In addition to her work with Organized Power in Numbers, Dominguez Zamorano is serving as a Senior Advisor to Mijente’s Fuera Trump Initiative.

Grassroots efforts like these have taken on new life in 2024, with Bop the Bigot adding to the larger, ongoing fight against political apathy and disinformation. Just as it did during the 2016 race, the video game uses humor to soften the serious task at hand—getting people to the polls.

"We want the game to be a fun and comical outlet for anyone who’s been insulted, frustrated, or harmed by Trump in the past and everyone who is ready to move forward as a country after election day," explained Loewe in a press release. "The proposals in Project 2025 and the beliefs of Trump and Vance aren’t just weird, they’re truly harmful. We wanted to give people a humorous and peaceful way to smack down their racism and sexism. We hope it makes people laugh and also feel empowered and motivated to get to the polls on or before election day."

With a mix of satire, sharp political critique, and nostalgia, the game is a call to action. The upcoming election, which is getting closer by the minute, has sparked fierce activism and creative yet grounded initiatives like these aim to ensure voters are engaged, especially young Latinos and disenfranchised groups.

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Photo Credit: Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash

Originally published in Common Dreams. Reprinted with permission.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

In November, abortion rights measures will appear on ballots across ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New York, where Latinos make up a significant portion of the electorate. For decades, pundits and politicians have recycled long-held misconceptions about Latino voters and abortion access, citing our conservative and religious beliefs.

Anti-abortion extremists have long fueled these misconceptions through misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting Latino communities with egregious lies and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion. Yet, polling, focus groups, and direct interactions with Latino communities have debunked these outdated tropes.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

For Latinos, the freedom to decide, a pillar of our American democracy, is critical. Meanwhile, Latinos are being hit directly with anti-abortion efforts that take away that freedom such as the six-week abortion ban put into effect by the Florida Supreme Court and the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, people of color and Latinas have felt the impact of a lack of abortion access, an element of basic healthcare.

A 2023 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families estimated that nearly 6.5 million Latinas, or 42% of all Latinas of reproductive age in the country, live in a state that either had or was likely to ban abortion. Ironically, it will be abortion access and anti-choice efforts to restrict freedom of choice that will mobilize Latino voters this election.

In a poll conducted by three national reproductive justice organizations, 87% of Latinas named abortion and women’s rights as one of their top priorities as they head to the polls. Another battleground poll conducted by Somos PAC and BSP Research found that 61% of Latino registered voters expressed a more positive/favorable view of Kamala Harris after hearing that she will protect abortion rights, versus only 19% of Latinos who said they had a more negative view of Harris after hearing that.

In key states to secure the White House and both chambers, Latinos make up large chunks of the electorate: Arizona (25%), Colorado (15%), Florida (20%), Nevada (20%), and New York (12%). In the face of unprecedented attacks on basic healthcare access and targeted attempts by extremists to mislead and divide our community on this issue, this November Latinos will be key deciders on abortion access across the country.

Mari Urbina, Managing Director of Indivisible, Battleground Arizona Lead and former Harry Reid advisor.

Héctor Sánchez Barba is president and CEO of Mi Familia Vota (MFV).