ipl-logo

Mental Health In African American Community Essay

944 Words4 Pages

Mental Health is a tough topic to talk about but for the African American Community; the concept of mental illness or overall mental health is swept up under the rug. The African American community is not informed and misunderstands mental health and illnesses, but why? In other communities of people mental health and all of its aspects are accepted but for my community of people it's something that is not openly discussed and looked down upon. According to mentalhealth.gov, “Mental health includes our emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Mental health is important at every stage of life, from childhood and adolescence through adulthood.” As described in the definition, mental health plays a strong role in your overall wellbeing; so with this being so important, why is it taboo in the African American community? In an article written by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) explains the following, “In the African American community, many people misunderstand what a mental health condition is and don’t talk about this topic. This lack of knowledge leads many to believe that a mental health condition is a personal weakness or some sort of punishment from God. African Americans may be reluctant to discuss mental health issues and seek treatment because of the shame and stigma associated with such conditions.” Growing up in a home with a mother who suffers from severe mental illness I noticed that my family would avoid conversations …show more content…

We need to soon realize that talking about mental health and mental illness is okay. The amount of poverty and violence in the African American community makes us more susceptible to mental illness. If we are educated at a young age that mental health is normal and apart of everyday life many would not have to

Show More
Related
1830 Words | 8 Pages

Researched Argument Essay Having accurate representation matters. Unfortunately, that is a concept that the media industry has not quite grasped. The portrayal of African Americans in the media, whether it be plays, television, news, movies, or social media has always been negative since the birth of slavery in the United States of America. Playing on the negative stereotypes of African Americans, white Americans have gone on to believe their false impressions of Africans Americans and this has hindered African Americans from gaining social change and respectability.

Read More
1787 Words | 8 Pages

Discussion Questions Part two The Concept of Double Consciousness as Described by Du Bois For many years until only about a few years ago, African Americans have had many difficult experiences as they have searched for their true cultural identity in the American society. The common method of identification of African Americans was their black skin color, hence the name Negros, blacks, and colored people. The African Americans were poor, and discriminated by the rich white people that forced them to adopt a new cultural identity and to be assimilated by the dominant culture while at the same time struggling to maintain their original cultural identity.

Read More
1082 Words | 5 Pages

There are many open wounds in the African-American community that have not healed what so ever. Disintegration of family structures in the African-American community has been a persistent problem for far too long. High out of wedlock birth rates, absent fathers, and the lack of a family support network for many young African-Americans have led to serious problems in America's urban areas. The persistence of serious social problems in inner-city areas has led to a tragic perpetuation of racial prejudice as well. African Americans still face a litany of problems in the 21st century today.

Read More
1269 Words | 6 Pages

This fear and gossip can be seen as a reflection of the stigma that surrounds mental illness in our society. People with mental health issues are often viewed as dangerous or unpredictable, and they are stigmatized as being different or abnormal. This stigma can prevent people from seeking help for their mental health issues, and it can make it difficult for them to reintegrate into society. According to Lauren Jett from Harvard, “on top of stigma, lack of availability and options for treatment add to

Read More
1062 Words | 5 Pages

I think that black lives matter too because everybody is important and should get treated the same way and just because one black person does something doesn't mean all black people are bad people. Like if a black person robs a store or something people think that all black people are that way but we aren't because there are some people that rob stores and commit crimes too that aren't black. That's why i think that people are making such a big deal about it and especially the things that happened in the past that's what really makes it bad like if none of that happened then it probably wouldn't be such a big deal about whenever black people get shot by a white person or something. And people think we run from the cops because we did something bad. No that's not everybody's reason the real reason is because they might be scared that they are gonna get there life taken away for no reason or they gonna get shot or something.

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

Mental health is a state of psychological well-being. According to World Health Organization (WHO) mental health includes "subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, intergenerational dependence, and self-actualization of one's intellectual and emotional potential, among others." (Organization, WHO 2001) However, cultural differences, race, ethnicity, personal background, subjective assessment, and socioeconomic status all affect how mental health is defined. This variation in definitions of mental health between different sects of our society further causes drift in methods of treatment, and may cause the burden of mental health to be greater on some cultures.

Read More
1495 Words | 6 Pages

People who live with mental illness are usually blamed for their condition or told it is just “a phase.” Stigma causes for people who live with the illness to feel ashamed about something that is out of their control. Mental illness is a disorder that one cannot control, therefore adding the burden of stigma is unacceptable. Despite the fact that stigma has reduced in recent years, it has not reduced enough. Something must be done to stand up and prevent stigma against mental

Read More
632 Words | 3 Pages

3. Mental Illnesses/Disorders are socially constructed There is a true side to this as well as a side that is somewhat false. It matters about how one classifies a “mental illness” and what mental illness really is. On one hand, mental illness can be classified as a condition that affects a person’s thinking, feeling or mood and this in turn impacts the way they are able to relate to others and function in a “normal” way on a daily basis (NAMI). But some others might say that mental illness is actually just behaviors that some people show that are not accepted within society.

Read More
319 Words | 2 Pages

Cultivating peace within African American communities is difficult to do because human violence is inevitable. When I think of peace, I think of It as justice, equity and freedom from oppression, discrimination and all forms of violence. Some changes that should be instituted to cultivate peace within the African American communities locally and nationally are; Putting all violent weapons down so our children can be safe, putting more police on the streets and toughen up the punishments for the offenders. If African Americans want peace in their community, then it is time to all come together to solve this problem without using violence.     “Everyone must be committed in the matter of peace, to do everything that they can … Peace is the language

Read More
605 Words | 3 Pages

Society will tell someone with depression to just “get over it.” Would you tell someone with a broken leg to just “get up and walk?” People aren’t sensitive about these illnesses, and never really take it solemnly. BUT there is a positive side. More than ⅔ of Americans who do have a mental illness lead productive lives.

Read More
753 Words | 4 Pages

I do believe that mental health is not taken as seriously as it should. This certain “illness” has very serious components that should not be taken lightly, yet handled with utmost care. The types of influential consequences that mental illness has can vary depending on the person, the illness itself, peer pressure, family influences, background, and so on and so forth. These days, it is more common for teens and young adults to develop depression and/or anxiety. And because the majority of these developments are teenagers, it is often seen as if they are simply “going through a phase” and will eventually “grow out of it”.

Read More
462 Words | 2 Pages

“... creating this distorted image of mental health that sometimes is somehow appealing to people and makes people covet a mental health disorder because of it’s apparent trendiness” (Barton). According to writers at Healthy Place, The romanticization of mental illness is quite common and feeds the stigma, ignoring the way disorders actually work within the human mind and creating a false image about

Read More
636 Words | 3 Pages

We should be open about mental health, so that people are able to speak up and get help, but not to the point that mental illnesses are normalized, romanticized, and trivialized. So, stop glorifying them. Stop acting like it’s a choice. Stop acting like they are entertainment. Stop using them as an adjective.

Read More
1019 Words | 5 Pages

Why do the people of today still associate stigma, shame and blame with mental health issues? Mental health issues are extremely and widely misunderstood. Despite the fact one in four people are likely to experience some kind of mental health problem a year in the United Kingdom. “Mental health is a person’s condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being and it affects how we feel, think and act. It also helps to determine how we handle situations such as stress, how we relate to others and how we make decisions.

Read More
908 Words | 4 Pages

While the topic of mental health awareness has recently been introduced, the roots of mental illnesses run deep into history. Mental illnesses, also called mental disorders, are a wide range of conditions that affect mood, thinking, and behavior. Many people with mental illnesses are now fighting to increase awareness of disorders like depression and anxiety, and some argue that the best way to educate about mental illnesses is to teach about it in school. By educating about mental illnesses in schools, activists are hoping to increase understanding about the topic and prevent teenagers who have mental illnesses from feeling alone.

Read More

More about Mental Health In African American Community Essay

Open Document