Mental Health and the Black Community
I remember as a teenager watching the Washington DC sniper on television and hearing people bet on the race of the shooter. It was almost unanimous that this was not a Black person. When the identity was revealed, everyone was shocked, a Black man and his son, had killed innocent people for no apparent reason. Then, last week, a man went into his estranged wife's job, an elementary school, shot and killed her and a student. Once again, his picture was plastered on television screens across the nation, a Black man, handsome and Facebook page proclaimed the love of God. I had to see his Facebook page myself, so I went and googled him, there it was, a happy man, had videos of he and his wife, pictures of his children, a normal Black man whom had no apparent reason to commit such heinous crimes. Then last night, I clicked on a video and much to my surprise watched a man take his last breath as a man shot him in the head and recorded it. Once again, the shooter is a Black man. A seemingly successful Black who is in his 30's, in a fraternity, working at a behavioral health center. He had no apparent reason for doing this. BLACK people we gotta wake up, this is no coincidence, mental health is serious and its new victim is the BLACK man and woman.
Black men are not the only ones being impacted in the Black community, women are too battling mental health issues. Although we are not seeing them on television committing mass murders, we are watching their numbers of suicide increase. A few weeks ago, I went to a seminar for Black women and their mental health. The speaker opened with an analogy that blew my mind. She said "imagine white men, black men, and black women running a race. White men have been in the lead for some time. They are running at a steady pace. Black men began to give them some competition, nevertheless the white men were still the victors. Now Black women have entered the race and they are running at so fast a pace it is inevitable that they will surpass the black and white men." She asked did we know what they were racing for and of course none of us guessed. It was SUICIDE. You could hear the gasps in the room. Black women's mental health is in danger. My mind wandered. Is it because we, Black men and women, hold the weight of the world on our shoulders, is it because we were taught to be so emotionally strong it is at times crippling to show any emotion, or is it that we've hit a breaking point with the constant verbal abuse and demeaning from the media, music, television, or even at times those closest to us? As the facilitator of the workshop began to provide statistics of current data I was stuck on this notion of Black people silently suffering. We have progressed in this country, yet in many ways regress daily if not by police brutality, our own efforts to demean and abuse our own. You watch Black men and women fight on television, create Instagram posts about on another, and even see some on television describing their disdain for the opposite sex of the same race. Mental health is a sign that things are deeply wrong in our community. Granted, some mental health disorders stem from genetics; however, the state of Black men and women in America has propelled the rate of Black men and women suffering from mental health issues.
Mental health is unspoken in our communities. I remember after the untimely death of both of my parents I told my grandmother that I wanted to go to see a therapist. She said "that's for crazy people" thank God I had the wherewithal to ignore her and go anyway. I sought out a Christian counseling center and began weekly meetings for 2 years. I can truly say with the help of God she saved my life. She taught me coping skills, how to express my feelings, and how to move past tragedy. Please do not believe this was an easy task, I left many days crying on my way to my car. After we dealt with the death of my parents. I was faced with dealing with myself and my own inadequacies. I learned how to recognize my own shortcomings and strengths which helped me be a better sister, aunt, niece, friend, mate, etc. How often as Black people are we taught this? We often believe we can just pray it away. Despite the fact that I am a Christian I believe that we have to work on our problems, prayer alone is not enough. Regardless of Blacks having the ability to identify something being wrong, they often do not know where to go to seek help. As a community we need to work together to make resources accessible and also disband the stigmas associated with getting help.
Some take always from the meeting that I consider gems that we can all benefit from are as follows:
20 minutes of exercise, direct sunlight, and omega 3 (salmon, fish, etc) combined are more powerful than any antidepressant drug on the market.
Meditating ain't just for the skinny girls sitting on a mat doing yoga. It is a time to envision those things you want for your life. Sit down take 15 minutes focus on one aspect of your life and simply envision what it is you want. FYI, this is no easy task. My first meditation I was thinking about an issue at work. Remember this is the time to redirect your thoughts to yourself and positivity. When we are focused, our actions are more intentional. When we focus on positivity, we unconsciously attract that same positivity in our lives.
Be mindful of what you allow to be deposited in you. What are you listening to? Watching on tv? Is it promoting the positive self you desire. Now this one is my struggle because I ain't giving up Love and Hip Hop ATL. Sorry, it ain't happening.
Lastly, love yourself first.
Be blessed