Black Americans and Mental Health: Why We Can't Call Nobody
For the black community, there is a constant struggle in this area in our lives around mental health. Many in our community will not pursue professional help, in the form of therapy, for emotional or behavioral conditions.
And why is that?
Because of the misunderstandings of mental health taught to us at an early age.
“This negative stigma has caused our community to hide behind an unspoken rule that problems are not talked about and swept under the rug.”
Other reasons for not seeking help include feeling that a therapist would stereotype, judge, or not give the proper treatment. Turning to alcohol or drugs to cope with stress and trauma is also used instead of seeking professional treatment.
Only 1 in 3 of Black Americans gain the mental health help they need.
We must stop doing this as a community. Your family, friends, and pastor can only do so much to help and convincing yourself that you can handle the situation alone is too much for one person.
Most of us have suffered through too much trauma and we need to become more comfortable in seeking help.
Here are a few things to take into consideration to reduce the stigma of therapy in our culture:
Be more aware of mental health in ourselves and our loved ones.
Don’t judge others or yourself.
Do your own research about mental health.
I have been in my candidacy for almost a year and I have had the opportunity to treat within our culture. I can’t stress enough that we as Black Americans — black folk — would benefit from therapy and that we should stop using the excuses from our childhoods to not seek help.
