One of the most hidden topics of Black America: Mental Health
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Mister B.
Members, Writer Posts: 16,172 ✭✭✭✭✭
Well, why do you think as a whole us a black population we don't address mental health issues? Are we conditioned to be tougher mentally? Are we conditioned to "suffer in silence"? Does going to a psychologist make us weak?
Stats
According to the US HHS Office of Minority Health]:
Adult Black/African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report serious psychological distress than adult whites.
Adult Black/African Americans living below poverty are three times more likely to report serious psychological distress than those living above poverty.
Adult Black/African Americans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than are adult whites.
And while Black/African Americans are less likely than white people to die from suicide as teenagers, Black/African Americans teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than are white teenagers (8.3 percent v. 6.2 percent).
According to a study conducted by Ward, Wiltshire, Detry, and Brown in 2013 [5]:
Black/African Americans hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors. Generally speaking, the participants in this study were not very open to acknowledging psychological problems, but they were somewhat open to seek mental health services.
Thirty percent of participants reported having a mental illness or receiving treatment for a mental illness
Black/African Americans men are particularly concerned about stigma.
Cohort effects, exposure to mental illness, and increased knowledge of mental illness are factors which 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.
Let's discuss this....
Stats
According to the US HHS Office of Minority Health]:
Adult Black/African Americans are 20 percent more likely to report serious psychological distress than adult whites.
Adult Black/African Americans living below poverty are three times more likely to report serious psychological distress than those living above poverty.
Adult Black/African Americans are more likely to have feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness than are adult whites.
And while Black/African Americans are less likely than white people to die from suicide as teenagers, Black/African Americans teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than are white teenagers (8.3 percent v. 6.2 percent).
According to a study conducted by Ward, Wiltshire, Detry, and Brown in 2013 [5]:
Black/African Americans hold beliefs related to stigma, psychological openness, and help-seeking, which in turn affects their coping behaviors. Generally speaking, the participants in this study were not very open to acknowledging psychological problems, but they were somewhat open to seek mental health services.
Thirty percent of participants reported having a mental illness or receiving treatment for a mental illness
Black/African Americans men are particularly concerned about stigma.
Cohort effects, exposure to mental illness, and increased knowledge of mental illness are factors which 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.
Let's discuss this....
Comments
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90% of these ? are bipolar.
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Can't afford it ?
I mean like with most medical ? - you gotta be able to afford it, right ? -
Don't trust the system (understandably).
And mental health protocols can vary from practice to practice, doctor to doctor. So I agree with @7figz on the cost aspect cuz not everybody has the time or money to try out 20 diff docs for treatment that works for them. And that's just for "regular" people that don't have any serious mental issues but may just wana learn some everyday coping methods or whatever. -
Well does one with mental illness even know that they are ill?
Who infected the infected? -
Here in chicago witnessing a murder or losing someone close is like cancer in the community, like pac said every body dying what's the use of even trying, even just seeing it on the news knowing u just left that area or u walk pass there everyday to go to school or work
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Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you. -
I think that movie with Jamie Foxx as the musician makes a good example... alot of us come from situations where we are exposed to little outside of our immediate environments...when we run into the real world..I.e. grow up. For some it proves to be too much to process.....maybe this applies to all races. On topic..it's major stigma in our community..you almost expect whites to be hopped up on medication buts us, it's like we have to be batshit crazy before its acceptable
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Folks don't want the stigma
They don't understand mental illness
There's a lot of people trying to medicate with illicit drugs -
lol look around this board, ? need help
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hidden? nah
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Another reason -
Doctors ain't ? and a lot of psych. meds have a reputation for undesirable (sometimes worse) side-effects. -
Our "shrink" has traditionally been....
Weed, alcohol, ? ? , purple drank, shirm smoke, and heroine.
We anesthetize ourselves by....
Smoking away the pain, drinking away the pain, snorting away the pain, and injecting away the pain.
All to escape our harsh realities, just to sober up & discover our problems have tripled in their magnitude.
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PTSD in a lot of young ? . Long term drug use, and early drug use can change neural pathways and brain chemistry, as well as a lot of traumatic events that you can't cope with, or don't cope with correctly.
I've told one young dude that he had tourettes and to go get seen because it can be controlled, he thought he was just ? up from all the 30s he's done over time. He thought tourettes was cursing and yelling uncontrollably, but it can present itself in a multitude of ways, including sounding like you're suppressing a cough or a sneeze like he kept doing.
The lack of education, pride, and the black man's ability to just roll with the punches often leads to a lot of health problems, not just mental, especially diabetes and high blood pressure which can be seen well in advance and can be managed pretty easily before you blow out your kidneys. There's more out there than you'd think, and weed, liq, pills, and powder ain't the way to fix/manage it, it's like putting a bandaid on a gunshot wound. -
Sometimes ? go through so much ? at a young age, or grow up before they're ready to the point where they become real life sociopaths before your eyes. Lil homies you used to buy ? from the ice cream truck for be like 16 with no life in they eyes, It's wild.
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mryounggun wrote: »Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you.
GOAT.
Many in our community neglect and rebuke the science of mental health, due to cultural reasons.
I've seen it in my extended family. That ? is ? up.
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For the record ...https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/08/29/hillary-clintons-comprehensive-agenda-on-mental-health/
... Hillary set out policies that will direct support to individuals with mental health problems and their families—including a detailed agenda to support military service members and veterans, an initiative to end America’s epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction, and a robust caregivers’ agenda. Today, she is building on those proposals with a comprehensive agenda on mental health. Hillary’s plan will:
-Promote early diagnosis and intervention, including launching a national initiative for suicide prevention.
-Integrate our nation’s mental and physical health care systems so that health care delivery focuses on the “whole person,” and significantly enhance community-based treatment
-Improve criminal justice outcomes by training law enforcement officers in crisis intervention, and prioritizing treatment over jail for non-violent, low-level offenders.
-Enforce mental health parity to the full extent of the law.
-Improve access to housing and job opportunities.
-Invest in brain and behavioral research and developing safe and effective treatment
As a down-payment on this agenda, Hillary will convene a White House Conference on Mental Health during her first year as President. Her goal is that within her time in office, Americans will no longer separate mental health from physical health when it comes to access to care or quality of treatment. The next generation must grow up knowing that mental health is a key component of overall health and there is no shame, stigma, or barriers to seeking out care.
This will get Flagged, tho.
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Because too many see "strength" in struggling and view talking about your problems as weak. It's a mindset that has too many in our community ignoring serious issues they have or thinking "the family can handle it" when unless you know what the hell you're doing you're not qualified to help someone with a mental illness
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For the record ...https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/08/29/hillary-clintons-comprehensive-agenda-on-mental-health/
... Hillary set out policies that will direct support to individuals with mental health problems and their families—including a detailed agenda to support military service members and veterans, an initiative to end America’s epidemic of drug and alcohol addiction, and a robust caregivers’ agenda. Today, she is building on those proposals with a comprehensive agenda on mental health. Hillary’s plan will:
-Promote early diagnosis and intervention, including launching a national initiative for suicide prevention.
-Integrate our nation’s mental and physical health care systems so that health care delivery focuses on the “whole person,” and significantly enhance community-based treatment
-Improve criminal justice outcomes by training law enforcement officers in crisis intervention, and prioritizing treatment over jail for non-violent, low-level offenders.
-Enforce mental health parity to the full extent of the law.
-Improve access to housing and job opportunities.
-Invest in brain and behavioral research and developing safe and effective treatment
As a down-payment on this agenda, Hillary will convene a White House Conference on Mental Health during her first year as President. Her goal is that within her time in office, Americans will no longer separate mental health from physical health when it comes to access to care or quality of treatment. The next generation must grow up knowing that mental health is a key component of overall health and there is no shame, stigma, or barriers to seeking out care.
This will get Flagged, tho.
Your welcome. -
mryounggun wrote: »Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you.
My wife became a mental health therapist because of the negative reactions she for from people after she decided to go to a therapist after her brother died. Said it disturbed her just how negative people got about her going to get help and instead telling her to just pray it away or that by going to see a therapist she was showing weakness -
mryounggun wrote: »Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you.
you're right to a certain extent ....but I think that is beginning to change
and affordability is indeed a big problem
there are a lot of mental health care providers who do no accept insurance...and a lot of insurers don't cover/fully cover a lot mental health services and medications
and fact is blk americans are disproportionately poor/low income
if you are low income/poor and struggle with substance abuse, for instance, you either gotta tough it out on your own or wait for an opening at an over crowded facility with very limited resources -
•Cost / •Access / •The stigma associated with asking for help are all elements
But I think the biggest component is Christianity and the overwhelming religiosity within the black community.
Why would you seek therapy from a trained professional who doesn't subscribe to your passive views on the creation of life as we know it when all you need to do is submit to the will of ? ? -
desertrain10 wrote: »mryounggun wrote: »Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you.
you're right to a certain extent ....but I think that is beginning to change
and affordability is indeed a big problem
there are a lot of mental health care providers who do no accept insurance...and a lot of insurers don't cover/fully cover a lot mental health services and medications
and fact is blk americans are disproportionately poor/low income
if you are low income/poor and struggle with substance abuse, for instance, you either gotta tough it out on your own or wait for an opening at an over crowded facility with very limited resources
I get that. But let's just keep it a buck: Let's say every African-American family who was struggling financially was given a $150k stipend at the beginning of every year. You think the amount of African-Americans who regularly go see some sort of mental health provider will dramatically increase as economic status increases? ? no.
And that's because affordability and accessibility are pretty far down on the 'Why ? don't go see mental health professionals' totem pole. Mainly, ? just don't believe in the ? , ain't with telling their problems to a stranger, view it as weakness, etc. ? is ? up. -
another reason to vote, at the very least, in your local elections
but a lot of the republican governors, through ALEC, were getting rid of public hospitals that served the mentally ill.
hell, there was a triage here in BR that would serve mentally ill people that police would pick up, and treat them before they head to the ER, which, if you are in the know about this area, you know that ER care is a HUGE drain on the public funding that goes to hospitals. Before this triage, police would just drop the folks off at the ER.
But that triage was closed to "save money".
but lets not paint the face of mental health as some person thats talking about killing themselves. Thats a component sure, but to mryoungun's point, sometimes, you just need someone to talk to, unfortunately, when you file it under insurance, its coded to Behavioral Health, but that doesnt mean you're crazy. Hell, i think with my insurance, its a $25 co pay. People blow that on silly ? everyday, you mean to tell me $25 is gon hurt you? -
mryounggun wrote: »desertrain10 wrote: »mryounggun wrote: »Man ? all that. I'm not really buying the 'can't afford it' angle. I know mad ? who have decent jobs, decent health insurance, some of them will go the doctor for any bump or bruise or ache...but won't go talk to a therapist.
The bottom line is that we as a community just don't understand mental health, don't take mental illness seriously unless it's something that's like OD in your face, and view therapy, etc, as 'white people ? ' or something reserved for the weak.
I said this in another thread, but we could ALL benefit from therapy. My girl been diagnosed with PTSD from when her brother was murdered. She's in therapy a couple times a month. We're in couples therapy. Not because some ? is broken, but because it's helpful.
Looking at the ? from another angle, I'd be very shocked if most black people over a certain age and with a certain level of awareness didn't have some form of mental illness. Specifically PTSD. There are only so many times you can witness people who look like you be shot down like dogs - and be blamed for their own deaths after they're dead - before the ? starts to take a mental toll on you.
you're right to a certain extent ....but I think that is beginning to change
and affordability is indeed a big problem
there are a lot of mental health care providers who do no accept insurance...and a lot of insurers don't cover/fully cover a lot mental health services and medications
and fact is blk americans are disproportionately poor/low income
if you are low income/poor and struggle with substance abuse, for instance, you either gotta tough it out on your own or wait for an opening at an over crowded facility with very limited resources
I get that. But let's just keep it a buck: Let's say every African-American family who was struggling financially was given a $150k stipend at the beginning of every year. You think the amount of African-Americans who regularly go see some sort of mental health provider will dramatically increase as economic status increases? ? no.
And that's because affordability and accessibility are pretty far down on the 'Why ? don't go see mental health professionals' totem pole. Mainly, ? just don't believe in the ? , ain't with telling their problems to a stranger, view it as weakness, etc. ? is ? up.
i really don't disagree with you
but our attitude towards mental healthcare stems from past injustices....from within the last 50, 60 years ....that's only going to go away with time
same as parents teach their children to hate someone with different color skin, past generations pasted on their distrust of the medical and science community to their children....obviously that distrust manifests in different ways
as more time passes i believe more and more of us will be open to seeking therapy, mental health care services, ESPECIALLY if it is affordable
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PRAY THE ? AWAYYYYY
