One of the first important authority figures in her life, her mother, didn’t take Danquah’s mental health seriously. Instead of being a source of support, validating her daughter’s experiences, she ridiculed her daughter for having a “flare for melodrama,” joking about how Danquah was “too Americanized” (33). Reducing her daughter’s mental illness to simply a dramatic tendency is not only insulting but extremely damaging to Danquah’s ability to cope with her mental illness. Starting from a young age, Danquah’s struggles were not taken seriously and this continued into her adult life. Even as an adult, Danquah’s mother infantilizes her by calling her dramatic. The implications of her mother’s actions, even if they were intended to be a joke, made Danqauh less willing to reach out for help later on in life. Instead, Danquah blames herself for her mental illness, ridiculing herself for not being strong enough to handle the stresses in her life. Not feeling like she deserves to get help severely impacts Danquah’s life as her depression prevents her from accomplishing her goals and then subsequently makes her feel extremely guilty about not being able to accomplish them. Danquah’s mother’s dismissal of her depression only makes her struggles that much more isolating.