Improving your mental state can improve your life
African Americans should consider mental health therapy.
Poor whites should also consider meaningful time spent talking about depression, generational poverty and being distanced from privilege and access.
Latinos? Yep. They need shrinks just to offset this constant chatter about being here as undocumented residents, plus, all the indecencies faced by people living in limbo while being held in check by deceptive government leaders.
Even Latinos born and raised in the U.S. face most social indignities encountered by undocumented residents. I mean, if you’re Latino then you must be here without papers. Right?
With all the back and forth about Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals and fear mongering attached to that caravan of South Americans headed toward the U.S. border, a discussion with mental professionals sounds warranted.
This racial, ethnic therapy mindset materialized after an African American man confronted me at the Trenton Transit Center about the Bill Cosby verdict.
“What about Harvey Weinstein?” the Trenton Transit Center man asked as he stepped onto Walnut Ave.
Harvey Weinstein is Harvey Weinstein. Bill Cosby is Bill Cosby. Is there a chance Weinstein never spends a day in prison. Of course. We know that privilege and connections can deliver different aspects of justice.
Frequently, we, as African Americans, attach ourselves, tether our core to actions committed by other black people. Their indiscretions somehow become part of our DNA.
Our inability to disconnect emotionally from black people who commit crimes or those who deliver social disgraces adds to the daily pressures and struggles of being low people on social ladders.
A life pressure exists for almost all humans as daily challenges deliver struggles. Mind you, most people with money or those who have access to borrow, earn and make money work for them, have less pressure than the population of humans living from paycheck to paycheck or those who depend on public assistance. Add persistent crime, incarceration, lack of opportunity and a litany of other issues that minorities encounter during any given day.
With all these issues one might expect that people latched to generational poverty or depression, might journey toward finding mental health assistance. Not happening. A perennial thought in African American households and communities notes that black people do not need to talk with psychologists or other mental health professionals.
According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness notes that African Americans and Hispanic Americans each use mental health services at about one-half the rate of Caucasian Americans and Asian Americans at about one-third the rate.
Monnica Williams, PhD, clinical psychologist writes, “The Black community shares the same concerns and mental health issues as the White majority, with arguably even greater stressors due to discrimination and economic inequities. Meanwhile, many wonder why African Americans shy away from psychotherapy as a potential solution to anxiety, depression, posttraumatic stress, relationship difficulties, and parenting challenges. Why do so many African Americans fail to make use of psychology’s solution to our emotional hurdles?”
A stigmatization awaits for most black people who seek better living through mental support. Black people who move toward mental health initiatives generally do not make that information public.
While financial issues and lack of insurance may impact a reluctance to find mental health professionals, black people have strong feelings about speaking about our mental ills, especially if it means talking to white mental health professionals. The pushback involves an inquiry regarding whether a Caucasian specialist can relate to urban dwellers.
Both personal mental health forays produced success as a desire to deal with demons, ghosts, addiction, relationships and just to feel better, cultivated positive results. Trust allowed breakthroughs as mental health professionals Dodie Murphy and Carol Edenfield listened without judgment.
Need help? Plenty of agencies that can offer support. My life rebound started at Catholic Charities which missions to alleviate human suffering and improve the quality of life of individuals and families, especially the poor and vulnerable through service, advocacy and community building.
NAMI offers an hourlong program to increase mental health awareness in African American communities by sharing the presenters’ journeys to recovery and exploring signs and symptoms of mental health conditions. The program also highlights how and where to find help.
Call 1-800-950-NAMI if you need assistance. If you’re serious about improving your mental state then make an attempt.
Statistics show that approximately 45 millions U.S. residents will seek mental health support during any given year.