Mental Health within the Black Community

Though mental wellness knows no color, I wanted to highlight mental health within the black community. For centuries, it was suggested that mental health did not apply to black and brown people. In the face of adversity, processing feelings and emotions was something they just weren’t openly able to do. But those emotions had to go somewhere, as they don’t just dissipate. The lesson? To be strong and keep pushing despite the circumstances, but the internal lesson was stronger: Allow unresolved toxicity to fester and watch it catch up with you down the line.

Although the 'bottom-line' has taught blacks how to sustain and be resilient in most obstacles, it has enabled a keen falsehood. The idealisms depicted a distorted picture and has authorized disassembled communities. Even the strongest person is bound to shatter if unfavorable life conditions accumulate without properly clearing away the debris. Reflecting and removing remnants from your past is vital to your stability.

Because black and brown people face adversities on various levels, they could profoundly benefit from seeking the proper treatment. Many blacks come from a long line of historical trauma. When people choose not to confront the things that has happened to them, sometimes they will operate from a place of dysfunction and affliction.

If a door continually slams in someone’s face, at some point that persons’ nose will bleed, and when that occurs, are they supposed to ignore the sight of bright red blood, or should they get a Kleenex to clean themselves up? Think about therapy or counseling in those terms. Acknowledging that you may need a Kleenex does not emasculate or discredit your ability to endure and overcome life’s impediments. It just means you understand that you are human and may need to be given a box of Kleenex.

Endurance is engrained in melanin DNA, and resilience flows through their veins. But what is the end result of inadequately dealing with life’s adversities? Insecurity, inability to communication, resentment, lack of trust, alcohol or substance abuse, anger, stress, anxiety, depression and/or suicide, to name a few. Unresolved trauma incubates unhealthy emotions, causing people to live in a dysfunctional capacity.

Human beings were designed to feel, hence the ability to cry, scream, or laugh. I can appreciate what resilience has done in my life, but I can’t help but wonder how my life would have turned out had I received the proper treatment to deal with the feelings I learned to suppress. I lived in denial for a very long time, because I didn’t know any better. But... I do now, and when you know better, you do better.

My interest with the black and brown communities ensues from unrelenting negative connotations regarding therapy, which have been grossly stagnating. Unfortunately, a lot of people have inherited falsehoods, which has prevented people from being their best and most authentic selves. Keeping unsettled experiences locked away in Pandora's box is non-conducive to the life you are meant to live.

Strength comes from knowing, acknowledging, and accepting that there may be a problem. Seeking help for things you know is a hinderance in your life conveys an astronomical amount of courage. People must understand that it is completely okay not to be okay.

~Kay