When I originally wrote this post I had a lot of statistics and facts and it didn’t feel right. I did, however, leave some statistics at the bottom of the post with links so I do encourage you to look at them. Knowledge is power.
I think the most important thing we can do when it comes to mental health in the black community is talk about it. For anyone who is suffering from mental illness or thinks they are, I recommend reaching out for help. There is no shame in wanting to heal.
I contemplated therapy since I was about 15 or 16. I don’t talk about it, but, in high school, I used to suffer from panic attacks. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop crying, and felt hopeless. While I never was suicidal I didn’t exactly mind if something were to happen. As I type that I remember the sad little girl I was. And no one besides my parents knew about the anxiety attacks and no one but me knows about the second half of my statement. That’s when I should have got help and didn’t.
For context, I went to a predominantly white high school. The conversations around mental health were much more open than when I would be around my black family. I never realized it was often dismissed or diminished in our communities. I do however remember some of the people I went to school with who very openly suffered from mental illness and were dismissed by guidance counselors and other admins at school. I honestly thought if this openly depressed kid was sent back to class for “faking it”, who would help me?
As I got older, college and beyond, the panic attacks were a lot less frequent. My anxiety never left and feelings of sadness lingered but it was better. I’d talk about wanting to see a therapist. I wanted to see someone who looked like me. It wasn’t until I was looking for good podcasts and found Therapy For Black Girls that I realized there were resources to find just that. I now have my black woman therapist who is a little older than I am. It’s like talking to a girlfriend who only gives you the advice you need whether you like it or not. I love it. I’ve slowly been able to dive into things I suppressed.
I say this long story about my journey to say a few things. You are not alone. There are many people who silently suffer. But there is no reason to do that anymore, you can find help. And it’s worth every dime and every minute. If money is a concern there are resources to help. You are not crazy or weak, in fact, you are so strong to reach out. It’s something we need to do to heal.
When I was researching content I stumbled upon something I wanted to share. I know I said I wasn’t sharing stats but these two are interesting to me. “In 2019, suicide was the second leading cause of death for blacks or African Americans, ages 15 to 24. Black females, grades 9-12, were 60 percent more likely to attempt suicide in 2019, as compared to non-Hispanic white females of the same age.” But that’s not all there is also a greater risk for depression, anxiety, and stress. Part of the reason is because of the pandemic, where we all are feeling more anxious. For some kids, school is their safe place when the home is not, and it’s their source of food. Another contributing factor is the spotlight on police brutality causing more anxiety.
What does it say when we are seeing our youth suffering from mental illness but there are few resources designed to help them? The infrastructure for mental health assistance is an issue for all Americans, but especially those in the black community. It’s starting at a young age, but the first generation to really acknowledge mental health was the millennials. It is time to start conversations about mental health without judgment.
There are many contributing factors to mental illness in the black community and it seems like everything is constantly “Getting better” but secretly just being turned into something else. Slavery now looks like police brutality and incarceration. We were moved into communities that were “bad land” or “bad locations” just to be taken over by white people who become successful and try to remove us and put us in worse locations. We are targeted in advertising for poor habits like fast food and smoking.
The one thing we can control in all of this is how we treat mental illness. Ask your friends and family how they are feeling and talk to them about it. Find out what people are feeling and make conversations normalized. Instead of shaming people, hear them out and seek help. Share resources on your social media pertaining to black mental health. Start the dialogue.
Facts/Statistics here:
Demographics and Prevalence
- 13.4% of the U.S. population, or nearly 46 million people, identify themselves as Black or African American and another 2.7% identified as multiracial.
- More than 1 in 5 Black and African American people in the U.S. lived in poverty as of 2018.
- Historical adversity, which includes slavery, sharecropping, and race-based exclusion from health, educational, social, and economic resources, translates into socioeconomic disparities experienced by Black and African American people today. Socioeconomic status, in turn, is linked to mental health: people who are impoverished, homeless, incarcerated, or have substance use problems are at higher risk for poor mental health.
- Black and African American people living below poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress than those living over 2x the poverty level.
- Adult Blacks and African Americans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than adult whites.
- Blacks and African Americans are less likely than white people to die from suicide at all ages. However, Black and African American teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than White teenagers (9.8% v. 6.1%).
Attitudes
According to a study conducted by Ward, Wiltshire, Detry, and Brown in 2013:
- Black and African Americans hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors. The participants in this study were not very open to acknowledging psychological problems, but they were somewhat open to seeking mental health services.
- 30% of participants reported having a mental illness or receiving treatment for a mental illness
- Black and African American men are particularly concerned about stigma.
- Cohort effects, exposure to mental illness, and increased knowledge of mental illness are factors that could potentially change beliefs about symptoms of mental illness.
- Participants appeared apprehensive about seeking professional help for mental health issues, which is consistent with previous research. However, participants were willing to seek out some form of help.
