The black community and mental illness

                                                                 

I am a black female who knows that talking about mental illness in the African American community can make you get some backlash, or even look at like you really are, “crazy.” I have been open about my anxiety disorder with some of my family members. I am the fortunate enough to have a family member that shares the same disorder, and they are truly understanding. There are of course those around me who do not understand what it means to have an anxiety disorder. I have had discussions with family members who told me that my anxiety was all in my head. They would say things like, “you just need to pray it away”, or “it’s all in your head.” This made me feel sad, angry, and uncomfortable.

I think that people who denied your mental illness is someone who has no respect for you. I feel this way because they are ignorant to what is going on, and they miss the biggest point; they could deal with the same thing. When I hear things like this I think about how many hospital visits that I have not knowing if I had a heart condition, or if it was just stress, or how many times I have thought about hurting myself, so I wouldn’t have to deal with all the stress that comes with anxiety. It breaks my heart that they feel that all I need is religion, and some yoga to help me get rid of a mental illness.

I once remembered someone saying that, “the brain is just like any other organ, if you don’t take care of it things will not work properly.” I thought this was quite a brilliant way to explain how mental illnesses work. My generation is known to talk about mental illness. I have siblings that are very open about feeling depress and having anxiety. It’s honestly becoming a bit better in our community to talk about mental illnesses in every form. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave a comment (good or bad), story, etc. This is a safe space we are here to heal together.

Be Brave!

  

It’s not always easy to talk to people, let alone the world about having a mental disorder. I have been called crazy, and other nasty names by people who used my mental disorder against me. I have dated people who could not understand why I act out in such ways. My adopted mother, never understood why I had such a hard time standing in front of a crowd.

  One night, I just decided to get on Facebook, and share with the world what I was going through. I got messages telling me that what I was doing was so brave. I was able to connect with others who admitted to me that they to dealt with a mental disorder. I was so happy to know that there were other who also dealt with the same thing. This helps take some of the pain out my life. I have an interesting support system. I was able to connect with a young woman who had bi-polar disorder, and whenever I have any problems I was able to connect with her. It made me happy that I had someone that I could understand what it is like to walk around with a mental disorder.

There are times that I get called, “crazy”, and people try to shame for being open and honest. But I believe that if you can live in your truth there is no one who can call you out about something that you have already admitted to. And at times it hurts when people use my mental disorder to define me. But I put those emotions aside and look for ways that I can approve myself. In other words, I disregard the hate that I get when it comes to someone shaming me. What they fail to realize is that they can end up in a depression or develop some type of mental disorder. And I have had experiences where people who shamed me called me and apologize about how they treated me. I understood, and I forgave them.’ Leave any comments (good or bad), and experiences. Remember that this is a safe space for us to heal together!

Abuse

 

                               

Writing this blog is very hard but I think that it is something that needs to be talked about. I have this negative outlook on people. It is normal to not trust people, but I often wonder what their thoughts about me is going to be, and in my mind without a second thought it is usually something negative. I don’t mean to be like this, but this is just the way things are. I know one factor that played a big role in my mental illness is the mental, and physical abuse that I endure at the hand of my family member. I was a very quiet child, and as I became older that stood out to people, and unfortunately that made me a target. Not only was I a target in school, but I was also a target in my own home. I was supposed to be protected and loved. Enduring this abuse not only affected my self-esteem it made my anxiety unmanageable.

I wish that I could have spoken to someone that I trusted so I could have had a better childhood. Every child deserves to grow up in a safe environment. No matter what people say, you need to remember that taking care of yourself first is the most important thing for you to do.  If anyone has a story to tell don’t hesitate to share. Rather if you agree with this blog, or you don't this is a safe place for us to heal together.

Know you medicine

I took the step to see what would happen if I decided to stop taking my medication for a couple of days. This was not only an eye-opener, but it had me ask a lot of questions about medicine, and people with mental illness. Within the four days I realized that the pills are more like suppressants. They only help to keep my anxiety from getting out of control. This is not a bad thing, but what about people who feel that they are ready to move on from medication? I also just want to say that I don’t advise anyone to do what I did, because this could be very dangerous.

I had very little withdraws, and more of my anxiety affecting me. I felt this sudden urge to go back to being on my medication. I can say that without my medication it felt as if the world was crashing down on me. Every day I was crying over something. There were good things that happened as well. I was able to get my appetite back, I felt more energetic, and my stomach felt fine.

This is not something that I plan on doing again. It was not a great experience for me at all. If you have tried something like this feel free to leave comments rather they are good or bad. Remember this is your safe space, and we are here to heal together.

More rights/Workplace/Mental Illness

                                                More rights/Workplace/Mental Illness  

Mental illness, can affect your work ethic. I think that this is an important discussion that is not talked about enough. I’ve work jobs that affected my mental illness, and when it became to much I found myself not wanting to do the job anymore. The symptoms of having a mental illness can affect your performance at work. If your mental illness becomes a disability, then you are lawfully protected. But if you have a mental illness like anxiety you are out of luck.

I wish to see the United States focus more on providing a safe work environment for people who suffer from mental illness. There are a lot of people who are uneducated when it come to spotting signs of someone who might be having an episode. Besides working as a psychiatrist, psychologist. There are no places in the work place besides HR that you can speak to if you are having symptoms of your mental illness. This would be great to incorporate in the work place. Imagine how many people deal with mental illness, and you come to work, and you have the resources to help you have a better work environment.

I really believe that Americans have a long way to go before doing anything major like that. I don’t believe that this administration, or the next will think this far ahead but it’s worth a try to get the word out there. So many times, I have had an anxiety attack, and nobody around me would even considered that I might need help. I didn’t take it personal because in my mind I believe that they are not well inform to understand someone like me. This is important because we need to have healthier people in the work force. 

When your employees are happy, and healthy production will also do well.

I really want to know what your thoughts are on people with mental illness having more rights in the work place. Don’t forget to leave a comment (good or bad), question, Etc. This is a safe place so let’s heal together.

More stress, more anxiety

                                                               

         

                                                             More Stress, More Anxiety 

I promised to share a personal story with you guys. I will start with the most recent attack that has happen to me. For the last couple of days, I felt as if I was out of breath. I thought maybe something might have been wrong, but it was stress. Stress, can affect your mental illness. With me when I am stress I have these chest pains, and I feel extremely nauseated. I knew that I was stressing but what happened as the stress progress is what made me scared.

Sure, I had symptoms of my anxiety affecting me I just didn’t think that It would lead to me having an anxiety attack. I woke up, and that is when I started to have trouble breathing. That’s when I decided to grab my medication, but was it going to work? It did make the symptoms stop for a little while, but it was just a suppressant for them. Throughout the rest of this week I still felt the shortness of breath.

Though it has been awhile since I had an anxiety attack I still remembered what my therapist told me to do. I started to count, I took small breaths, I made sure that I focused on something in the room. When I arrived at work I talked to people around me, so I can vent about why I have been so stressed lately.

I found this to be helpful. It minimized the chest pains, and I was able to breathe without feeling like I ran. What I want you to take from this story is that It’s okay to admit sometimes that our mental illness gets the past of us. Its what steps are we taking to minimize the symptoms of that mental illness.

If you have advice, or comments (good or bad) make sure that you leave them below. Sharing your personal journey may be something that helps someone along the way. Let’s use this blog as a safe place to heal and grow together.

How therapy can help you

How therapy can help you

 Therapy, is there to help you take the necessary steps to help better manage your mental illness. So that there is no confusion there are different types of therapy options out there. Cognitive-behavioral therapy, works well to help you learn how to take healthier actions in your life. Interpersonal therapy, helps you learn how to better express your emotions in a healthier way. Family therapy, is there to help families become a better family unit. Psychodynamic Therapy, provides you information on how you can better understand your unconscious mind. Art therapy, uses forms of art to help you express your emotions and this also helps promote the process of healing. Psychoeducation, helps educate you on your mental illness. Each method is specifically design to help you manage your mental illness.

Money, is also of importance. If you are insured call your insurance company and they should provide you with the best matches for your insurance. Being uninsured doesn’t disqualify you from finding a therapist. My best advice, is to use a search engine to find free therapy sessions. Don’t forget there is also free group sessions that can also help you manage your mental illness, and personally speaking, sometimes these programs are just sufficient as a therapist.

Trust is also key. You should be able to feel comfortable with your therapist. Remember that your therapist is there for you and not the other way around. You should be able to open to them, if not moving on to find someone that works for you is completely fine. I personally can admit that sometimes you will get therapist that are not bad at their jobs, but they are just not the right fit for you.

Hopefully this blog gives you some insight if you’re considering therapy. If you have any questions or comments, good or bad, don’t forget to leave them below. Remember that we are on this healing journey together.