This past Wednesday was World Mental Health Day, which is a day that is dedicated to spreading awareness about mental illness and health in order to erase the stigmas and misunderstandings that are often associated with this topic. This day is also a time to come together and facilitate discussions about mental health and to provide support for those who struggle with psychological and emotional disorders and diseases. In light of this day, I believe that it is a good time to talk about how Black women and mental health intersect.
What is mental health and illness?
Before we explore mental health and illness, we must first discuss what these terms mean and how they affect our lives. Mental health is perhaps one of the most important aspects of our existance. Our mental state literally determines how we view ourselves and the world around us and also greatly affects aspects of our personalities.
Mental illness, like any other type of illness, is a medical condition that changes and inhibits the natural function of the affected area. According to the CDC, "Mental illnesses are conditions that affect a person’s thinking, feeling, mood or behavior, such as depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, or schizophrenia. Such conditions may be occasional or long-lasting (chronic) and affect someone’s ability to relate to others and function each day" (CDC, 2018). Currently, it is estimated that, in a given year, 1 in 5 Americans will suffer from mental illness (CDC, 2018).
How are Black women affected by mental illness?
Because of stressors such as institutional racism, sexism, misogynoir (a specific type of discrimination that affects Black women specifically), and overall disparities in halthcare/lack of proper access, Black women are often exposed to unique and difficult challenges in our society. The issues that manifest from these setbacks are often both physical and mental.
1. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); "Across a recent 15-year span, suicide rates increased 233 percent among African Americans aged 10-14 compared to 120 percent among Caucasian Americans in the same age group across the same span of time"(NAMI, 2009).
2. In an article by Self Magazine, it is said that according to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, Black people are 10% more likely than white people to have psychological distress (Barnes, 2017).
3. In the research study, The mental health of US Black women: the roles of social context and severe intimate partner violence, 23.7% of the Black women in the sample had a type of anxiety disorder, 16.7% of the women had a mood disorder, and 12.7% had suicidal thoughts at some point in their lives (Lacey, 2015).
So what do these statistics reallymean?: Real Life Applications
Statistics such as these mean that mental illness is not some distant issue that only affects some unnamed friend of a friend's friend who lives in another state. No, mental illness is a very relevant issue that can affect you, the women in your family, your girlfriends, your partners, and the women in your community on a daily basis. Also, since mental illness is an umbrella term for numerous amounts of disorders, all of which have varying degrees and symptoms, behaviors and traits that you've often overlooked or didn't quite understand in others, as well as yourself, could possibly be manifestations of an illness.
In conclusion, all of this information isn't meant to frighten, shame, or isolate you in any way. This post was written to empower, support, inform, and possibly console you. This post is me saying that you, your mental health, and your struggles are valid. You are not alone and you are certainly not your disease. Lastly, remember that getting any type of support or help for mental illness is the the most important thing you can do for yourself, and it's a definitely a process that you don't have to go through alone.
Sources
Lacey, Krim K, et al. “The Mental Health of US Black Women: the Roles of Social Context and Severe Intimate Partner Violence.” BMJ Open, British Medical Journal Publishing Group, 1 Oct. 2015, bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/10/e008415.
Barnes, Zahra. “8 Health Conditions That Disproportionately Affect Black Women.” SELF, 30 Mar. 2017, www.self.com/story/black-women-health-conditions.
“African American Community Mental Health FACT SHEET.” National Alliance on Mental Illness , National Alliance on Mental Illness , 2009, www.namisa.org/uploads/5/0/7/8/5078292/africanamerican_mentalhealth_nami_factsheet_2009.pdf.
“Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 26 Jan. 2018, www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/learn/index.htm.
