I previously shared my truth about my battle with depression and self-injury in a piece I wrote titled "An Open Letter to Black Women About Mental Health." Not only did I openly share my experiences with depression, but I urged other black women to break away from the cultural stigma surrounding mental illness, to rid themselves of the weight that comes with carrying the "strong black woman" title and to seek professional treatment for their struggles.
I took some time out to re-read my letter, and I realized that there is a fundamental piece that was missing. When I wrote it, I felt as if I were hitting the nail on the head, but I wasn't focused on the foundation that nail was going into. If I am going to address a community to seek professional help, I need to address those who drive the mental health care system to understand how to tend to -- as well as make themselves available to -- this particular community.
There are so many folks living behind the looking glass who fail to recognize or comprehend the contemporary social problems that people from minority backgrounds encounter just for being human -- racism, prejudice, discrimination, criminalization and deep-seated cultural stereotypes, to name a few. These collective societal issues are just as detrimental to our well-being as the "strong black woman" supposition, and such matters are linked to the prevalence of mental illness,particularly trauma, within minority and African-American communities.
[For more of this story, written by Minaa B, go to http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...fford_b_7805248.html]
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