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.
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