Mental Illness in the Black Community
I was 23 before I started going to a counselor for my actions and symptoms that were very similar to symptoms of depression. I was depressed most days of the week which caused me not to eat. I lost weight and was awake for more than 12 hours of the day with 4-5 hours of sleep thrown in here and there. My partner at the time also dealt with issues with mental health and rarely focused on me.
I spent a lot of my time trying to make sure he was doing okay, mentally and emotionally. When I wasn’t doing that I was studying. I was in the library for 7-10 hours at a time and even once I left the library I would go straight back to my dorm room to study until I had to go to class again or I would head straight to class to learn new information.
This was my life the last year and a half I was in college.
I was always alone. And even when I wasn’t alone — maybe hanging out with friends — I wasn’t mentally there. I always tried to find a way to be alone in my dorm room so that I spent more time studying as I could then have an excuse to tell my friends as to why I didn’t show up to have lunch or to hang out. I felt empty and numb most of the time wondering why I even woke up most mornings.
I didn’t tell anyone about these feelings — not my mom or my sister — and I felt like if I did they would ask me why I felt this way when my life was so good. When I had more opportunities than most young adults my age get, why would or how could I be depressed?
Mental health or mental illness is rarely discussed within the black community. In the black community, mental illness is thought of as a “white person’s disease.” It is nothing that affects black people. But mental illness is not dependent upon race or gender. Mental health is extremely important for any and everyone, race is not important as anyone may experience or deal with mental health issues. Without mental health, we can not be healthy. Everyone experiences emotional ups and downs, including black people. more
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