Written by Dana Maeshia, Escape Velocity
For some taking care of their mental health and wellness is as normal as brushing their hair or walking their dog. For others, it’s just a catch phrase or something you can do when you have “gotten your stuff together”. The self defeating issue is that you can’t get yourself together until you are balanced and well mentally, emotionally, physically, spiritually and even financially. These things go hand in hand, just as much as you need to be rational to make sound decisions, you also need to take a critical look at your finances. Poverty is gravitational pull to a depressed, physically ill or hopeless person. Poverty exacerbates any already stressed or taxing issues.
It’s time to consider taking a real look at the state of mental health and wellness in the African American Community. We need to be honest about the expectations that are put on us by society and within our own culture. It’s time to redefine the “Strong Black Man and Woman” as individuals while simultaneously nurturing the “Strong Black Families” that make up our communities. In my humble opinion we can only do this by taking a holistic approach to healing the current ails by dissecting and digging up the root causes.
This is no easy feat, if it were we would all be ok with being vulnerable, more expressive and honest with our therapy appointments scheduled along with our hair cuts and nail appointments. There are several reasons why we don’t go digging, we compartmentalize, we are expected to endure the trauma that some of us inherited, handed to us or in some cases created.
Men are told they need to be strong which means never showing emotion or admit weakness and women are taught to never let anyone see you sweat and to make sure you look good as we are often times dying inside and slowly disappearing. We have become masters at keeping secrets because after all “what happens in your house stays in your house”. Subliminally we learn to dim our lights, hide our insecurities and disguise when we are feeling off balance.
We self–medicate, and sacrifice real solutions for temporary comfort and we have been doing it for generations.
Can we judge the coping mechanisms that we have come to implore as normal daily life? Absolutely not, but we can no longer deny the affects or stand by while we continue to sink lower on the social ladder, rendering a lot of us incapable of honing the gumption required to maximize are full potential. Mental Health and Wellness is a multigenerational issue. I am looking forward in joining the fight to defy the gravitational pull of mental health with a special emphasis on our youth. Stay tuned for more information on this topic and status of the projects we are embarking on to heal our communities and to ensure that everyone has access to the help they need. Thanks for your time. Until next time.