Twenty-one-year-old Morgan Clark has struggled with anxiety since her junior year of high school.
She felt on edge and tense, until one day, she had a breakdown. Clark realized she needed help and sought therapy for her anger. She realized it wasn’t anger. It was anxiety.
“College is where it got really bad, and I occasionally still have little spells,” Clark said. “I used to take the label off my medication in fear of people judging me. But I have learned that there is nothing wrong with therapy, getting help or medication. Get help and be the best you that you can be.”
Clark is among many other African-Americans that suffer from mental health conditions. Celebrities such as Janet Jackson, Alicia Keys and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have opened up about their battles with anxiety and depression. While awareness has grown in recent years, especially among African-Americans, mental health conditions do not affect every ethnic group the same.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), African-Americans are 20 percent more likely to experience severe mental health conditions than white people and other minorities. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported 13.6 percent of white people seek treatment for their conditions compared to only 7.6 percent of Black people.
The root of the issue and how to solve it
The Black community continuously fights oppression, inequalities and decreased opportunities. These factors along with socio-economic status and traumatic events can take a toll on a person’s mental health. Some individuals within the Black community ignore mental health and perceive receiving help as a weakness and believe therapy is not for them.
Because therapy is based on a Euro-centric way of healing people, many African-Americans have a denial of mental illness and a distrust of the medical community. This leads them to work through their anxiety and depression without medical help.
Creating awareness of mental illness through education and discussions removes the stigma and make it easier for someone to recognize a problem and seek treatment.
“We grow up in the Black community being able to just get through it but not addressing the issues,” Amaryllis Lewis, a therapist for 15 years said. “As an adult we think it is a normal part of our lives, but it’s not normal.”
African-Americans also are more reluctant to access mental health services because of misdiagnoses, Barbara Thompson, policy and communications director for NAMI Indiana said. The lack of cultural competency with the person seeing the patient often leads to those misdiagnoses.
“From a client perspective we need to do more to share a piece of our culture to enlighten therapists on what we need,” said Stephen Groce, a board member of NAMI Indiana. “We also need more African-American health providers and training on other cultures. Therapists need to be aware that their tactics may not apply to every cultural perspective.”
The mental health stigmas within the Black community hinder people from receiving the help they need. The first step is to realize that there is an issue and seek help for it.
“The history of what our race has been through lays into our mental health,” Clark said. “We always see ourselves as strong, independent individuals, but going out to get help is not weak.”
Contact staff writer Loren Dent at 317-762-7853.
Anxiety and depression II
