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Essay on african american in mental health
Mental effects of slavery on slaveholders
Essay on african american in mental health
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In the book Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome written by Dr.Joy DeGruy she explains how the past events in American history has lead to post traumatic slave syndrome. She explains that the way African Americans were treated during the slave era and after has had an everlasting effect on African Americans. The book goes on to describe how America has been denying its past and has not helped to integrated and level all the playing fields for African Americans. The book brings to light how we can try to contribute in making America a fair and equal place for all as most claim it to be. Through the book DeGruy talks about the four major contributing factors for the reason why America is the way it is.
The View from Black America by Kenneth Hardy, describes the struggles that the African American community still faces currently. The article outlines the lives lost by violence and shootings by police. The reading emphasizes the lack of resources the African American community has access to. The misconceptions about black people have also contributed the racial hostility. These attitudes affect an individual's mental health.
There are many sides to every story; poverty is no exception to the rule. Previously we examined the behavior effects of Dasani’s homelessness. This is a personal analysis of Dasani from a spiritual, environmental and cultural dimension. Consider the early years of slavery. African Americans were denied the ability to live without being physically abused and degraded.
Compare and contrast the Depression experiences of Mexican- and African-Americans. In your opinion, which group fared better? Weathering the Great depression was not an easy task for any person or racial group in American. During this period time Whites “faired” the best comparatively speaking about this time period to their counter parts Africans-American and Mexican-American.
There was a population of people who felt that African Americans deserved the same rights as anybody else, like the abolitionists. In this document written by Dr. Cartwright titled Diseases and Peculiarities of the Negro Race the topic of the mental health of the African American community is mentioned and discussed. Within this document the connection between the mental health problems and religion is made, in order to fully understand why the average enslaved African American, decides to run away (Dr. Cartwright). A lot of the members of society at this time felt that the reason the slaves would run away, was because of a disease called Drapetomania. The disease that causes Negros to run away from their masters, is what Drapetomania was known as during these times.
America’s enslaved population carried decades of invisible scars and the trauma they endured in enslavement devastated both their mental and physical health. The horrific conditions endured by slaves often led to mental illness, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, also known as PTSD. PTSD is a psychiatric disorder caused
An Ethnography of African American Men in Psychiatric Custody. In the book Hejtmanek notes that African
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
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.
SUICIDE RATES AMONG ETHNIC GROUPS It is often difficult to obtain accurate data for suicide rates among ethnic groups in various countries. Aggregated figures often hide major geographic discrepancies and variations in rates between groups within a country. For example, there are high rates of suicide among the aboriginal peoples of Australia and New Zealand compared with those of the colonists.
So when discussing a nuanced understanding of underlying causes of mental health, it is imperative to understand that many roles play in growing mental health but, through my discovery of mental health and its high importance, I have noticed that in the African American community, mental health is often overlooked because of our place in society. Whether it ranges from financial incapability or no social awareness, mental health has inflicted a punishing burden on many in the African American community. Statistics show that African Americans are disproportionately affected by the downsides of mental health. According to CUDP (Columba University Department of Psychiatry), research suggests that “the adult Black community is 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems, such as Major Depressive Disorder or Generalized Anxiety Disorder.” In addition, the CUPD states “Black emerging adults (ages 18-25) also experience higher rates of mental health problems and lower rates of mental health service utilization compared to White emerging adults, and older Black adults.”
Struggling to Find Resources for Mental Health in The Black Community Mental health in the Black community is often left on the back burner. For instance, for as long as slavery African American mental health stigma has always been an unfair social attitude (McLean, 2023). As an African American, I always felt that mental health in general is a challenging topic to speak about and nobody really knows the correct words to use. It has been stated that a black person who suffers from a mental health illness is not reported as much as a white person who may suffer from a mental health illness (Guerra, 2022). As a black person it is already hard being black in this society however, being black and someone who suffered from mental health issues made
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.
African Americans, past and present, feel disillusioned by their unfortunate
The birth of hip hop took place in the Bronx, New York , during a time of poverty , Initially when Hip Hop first came about no one would have imagined how vastly and quickly it grew nor would they have predicted the influence on society it has today. This particular enriched and animated, genre of music went from the local backwoods of the projects to a multi millionaire industry. If you ask most people today their definition of Hip Hop , generally they would say a cool rhyming scheme with a hook and a catchy tune, which is not too far off. But it is much deeper than that .Hip hop is a form of expression like a factory , if you may .
