Eliss Jackson

Integrated Memoirs

People suffering from mental health ailments are nothing new; therefore, you would think that its perception wouldn’t be perceived with such negativity, stigmas, and prejudice. I’m used to the negative connotations. When I informed my family that I was changing my major from Chemistry/Pre-Med to Psychology/Neuroscience, the question that came next was, “Is there something wrong with you? There must be because only crazy people want to study other crazy people.” To add insult to injury, the parents of my Italian-American fiancé also don’t agree with the study of psychology, and they don’t respect or understand why anyone would want to venture into such a “ridiculous thing” such as seeking therapy and/or counseling. My future mother-in-law questioned us as to why we chose to complete a pre-marital counseling course because, “Italians don’t do therapy.” Due to the negative hype around mental health ailments, its prevalence goes unnoticed in many cultures, especially African American women. Stemming from our unfortunate experiences dealing with violence, cultural alienation, and sexual exploitation, the percentage of mental health ailments for African American women are higher than the average for women across all cultures.

Unfortunately, I can attest to feeding into the negativity. During my senior year of undergrad, I felt compelled to seek therapy after listening to one of the on campus therapists give a presentation in my Senior Seminar class. My presenting problems wouldn’t allow me to continue to continue on as if I was feeling “normal.” On the day of my appointment, I purposely wore baggy sweatpants, a large t-shirt, a fitted baseball cap, and sunshades. Even though I had spent the past 3.5 years studying and respecting my discipline, I didn’t respect it enough to apply it to myself. I didn’t want any of my peers to find out because I feared being labeled as “crazy.” I whispered my name to the administrative assistant, and she was annoying me when she kept on asking me to speak up. When it was finally my time to meet my therapist, I walked into her office, sat down with a keen posture and blurted, “I don’t know why I’m here. There isn’t anything wrong with me.” Let’s just say, by the end of the session, I was pouring my emotions out to this woman, and to my surprise, I felt great about it. Since then, I’ve been professing the benefits of therapy to everyone, even if the culture and sex was similar to mine.

Contrary to the popular belief presented in the media, African American women aren’t monolithic. We don’t encompass the same beliefs, traditions, and ideologies. However, there is a common thread that binds African American women together, and it’s the notion that we have to “take care of it.” If you look at many generational lines of African American families, you can be assured to find a plethora African American women who have been encumbered with caring for the family financially, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. With the lack of support and resources to seek aid, many generations of African American women have suffered with their physical health as well as with their mental health, and this had lead them to suffer from “Sojourner Syndrome.” Via the research, it was found that our coping skills aren’t effective; for, they still lead to “…early health deterioration and increased morbidity, disability, and mortality in African American women.”

Now some may start to think that there should be a disparity in the percentage of mental health ailments if you stratify them based on socioeconomic level and education, but it’s not the case. In a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (Boyd et. al, 2007), it was found that the mental and physical health benefits of higher economic and education status aren’t received the same for African American mothers as compared to White mothers. In the discussion, it stated, “African American mothers may be exposed to greater levels of racism, as they could live and work in more integrated environments compared to lower educated African American mothers, thereby leading to greater depression.” There is light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s a dim one. As presented by Drs. Earlise C. Ward and Susan M. Heidrich in 2009, the National Institute of Biotechnology Information noted African American women who were part of a higher socioeconomic level and who completed higher levels of education would be “somewhat comfortable with talking to a mental health professional if faced with a mental health problem, and would not be very embarrassed if friends knew they were getting professional help.”

So what is the solution to this leeching problem? We as Black women start off by realizing that our sole and main objective should be to take care of ourselves in every facet of our lives. If it’s not going to beneficial to us, then we don’t need to entertain it. Yes, this may sound selfish, but if you don’t care for yourself, you can’t be able to care for anyone else. Too often we feel that it’s our duty to be the caretaker for others, when it’s not being reciprocated to us. It’s time out for that. We also need to deprogram our way of thinking, and stop believing that mental health isn’t a real and prevalent issue, especially for African American women. It’s better to seek help and heal than to act oblivious to it and slowly decay. Additionally, these following tips by George Leary, M.S. should also be utilized:

Know Thyself. A healthy identity is critical for overall good mental health. For women of African descent, this means seeing themselves as the recipients of generations of collective wisdom and experience from African and African American culture.

Use Social Supports. Using social networks found in the family, neighborhood, church, mosque, temple and community is how African American women seek healing through others with similar experiences. Currently, many independent support groups for African American women are being created around the country.

Build Self-Confidence. This comes from action. Those who put forth effort to achieve their positive ambitions must overcome fear and work hard. Regardless of how successful we are in the end, it is our determination and sense of control that gives us confidence in self.

Recognize Symptoms. No two people experience mental disorders in the same manner. Symptoms will vary in severity and duration among different people. For example, while feelings of worthlessness are a common symptom of depression in White women, changes in appetite is cited as a common sign of depression for African American women.

Develop an Attitude of Optimism. Those who think positively are greatly immune to the stress and feelings of depression common in everyday life.

 Eliss Jackson is a research project coordinator in the mental health field.