Being that we celebrated World Mental Health Day yesterday, I believed in was only appropriate to discuss issues of mental health within the black community. Unfortunately there is a major stigma concerning mental health as it is overlooked and often ignored though a number of African Americans deal with issues of mental health.

I know personally I have struggled with my mental health and found myself not being able to really communicate it. Due to this stigma in the black community, mental disabilities are frowned upon and looked at negatively. Personally coming from an African household, my parents didn’t really believe in mental health as the culture they grew up in viewed it as taboo, something fictional. Due to this lack on knowledge/belief, it made it very uncomfortable to deal with certain issues as I feared being looked at as ‘crazy’ causing me to often ignore and invalidate my feelings.

For many African Americans this is a reality. Where having a mental disorder can cause you to be shunned or invalidated. This issue also becomes worse in some cases for African American males specifically. As they have to deal with keeping up a certain image of being this strong provider, having or dealing with issues of mental health is seen as a ‘weakness’.

While these issues are often seen as taboo, unfortunately they come up one way or another. In recent studies according to the US Office of Minority Health, African Americans teenagers are more likely to attempt suicide than are white teenagers (8.3% versus 6.2%) even though we make up for a smaller amount of the population. They also stated that African Americans held beliefs related to psychological openness and help-seeking, which in turn affected their coping behaviors. This led to participants in the study not being very open to acknowledging psychological problems they’ve dealt with. They also pointed out the fact that African American men were particularly concerned about the stigma and that stigma and judgment prevents African Americans overall from seeking treatment for their mental illnesses. In the study it was indicated that African Americans believe that mild depression or anxiety would be considered “crazy” in their social circles. Many believe that discussions about mental illness would not be appropriate even among family.

While reading many of these statistics can be saddening, again it is unfortunately a reality for many African Americans, including myself. But even when facing issues of mental health, there are issues within treatment itself. Studies have found that because less than 2 percent of American Psychological Association members are African American, some may worry that mental health care practitioners are not culturally competent enough to treat their specific issues. Many have stated that this issue is compounded by the fact that some African American patients have reported experiencing racism and microaggression from therapists.

Another issue often overlooked concerning treatment is the mass incarceration issue that effects the black community. Rather than acknowledging these problems, society tends to turn the other cheek for African Americans. As there is a gross overrepresentation of African Americans in jails, POC are found to make up 60% of the prison population. This is not because  ‘African Americans commit more crimes than others’ because that is simply false. This is due to injustices committed against African Americans often causing this pipeline directly from the black community to prisons. But that’s an issue to be further discussed for later.

In hopes of combatting the ignorance surrounding mental health, there needs to be more discussion, acknowledgement, and validation of mental health within the black community. It’s okay to have an ‘off’ day, it’s okay to feel a certain way sometimes because at the end of the day we are human. Do not ignore your feelings because you’re afraid of being viewed as ‘crazy’. And while this may be easier said than done, remember even if you do ignore them they will manifest in some way and come back, even worse sometimes.

Taking from my experience I truly hope those out there going through similar things, despite your race, know that their issues and feelings are valid! That what they’re going through is understandable and worth talking about.