Why  is our mental  health so important?

Mental health encompasses our psychological, emotional and social well-being.

It impacts how we feel, think and behave and contributes to our decision making, how we cope with stress, and how we relate to others in our lives.

“We may encounter many defeats, but we must not be defeated – Maya Angelou“

When your feelings, thoughts and behaviors affect your ability to function:

• Many people have mental health concerns from time to time.
• If your mental health concerns interfere with your ability to function, you should seek the help of a medical professional for further evaluation; you could have a mental illness.
• Select examples of a mental illness includes depression and anxiety.
• There are treatments available that work.

“1 in 4 adults aged 18 yrs+ report living with a  mental illness in the past year (2022)”

Possible warning signs of mental illness:

• Withdrawal from social interaction
• Unusual problems functioning at school or work
• Dramatic changes in sleep and appetite
• Problems with concentration that are hard to explain
• Fear or suspiciousness of others or a strong nervous feeling

Mood disorders unique to women:

• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) a severe form of premenstrual syndrome (PMS); it is a serious condition with disabling symptoms such as irritability, anger, depressed mood, sadness, suicidal thoughts, appetite changes, bloating, breast tenderness, and joint or muscle pain.
• Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD) mood disorders that can affect women during pregnancy and after childbirth; much more serious than the “baby blues.
• Perimenopausal depression – irritability, anxiety, sadness, or loss of enjoyment at the time of the menopause transition.

While the prevalence of mental health disorders often does not significantly differ across racial/ethnic groups, the long-lasting impact, severity and adverse consequences of these disorders disproportionately burden people of color, especially women of color.

What is contributing to this disproportionate burden experienced by people of color:

• First, lets look back at how history has shaped this situation.
• Second, appreciate and understand current conditions that contribute to a disproportionate burden of mental illness experienced by people of color.

History has shaped our society in many ways, with direct health implications:

• The social, economic, and environmental conditions shape our physical and mental health;
• Understanding history sheds light on the roots of present-day health inequities in the US.

Inequalities that we experience today in the United States is rooted in longstanding behaviors, beliefs, and public and private policies in the US.

These behaviors, beliefs and policies date back to the country’s founding.

Race Is A Socially Constructed Category of Identification:

Race is an arbitrary way to differentiate one group from another based on skin color.

Caste is how we use that distinction to maintain division among groups.

Race is what we can see…Caste is the powerful infrastructure that holds each group in its place.

It’s a historic flashcard to the public of how someone should be treated, where they are expected to live…

Isabel Wilkerson

Laws enforcing inequities of Black Americans:

Black Laws/Black Codes:

Despite the emancipation of enslaved persons and the American Civil War, Black Codes or Black Laws were strict local and state laws that detailed when, where and how formerly enslaved people could work, and for how much compensation. The codes were a legal way to put Black citizens into indentured servitude, to take voting rights away, to control where they lived and how they traveled and to seize children for labor purposes.

Jim Crow Laws:

State and local statues that enforced racial segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants. “Whites Only” and “Colored” signs were constant reminders of the enforced racial order.

Redlining:

A process in which the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC, guided lenders by denoting “hazardous” communities with red marks. This led to decreasing property values, reducing the quality of local schools and limiting access to equitable health care.

Manifest destiny 1803-c.1898 & Indigenous people:

Indian Removal Act:

• Against the backdrop of Manifest Destiny in the 19th century, the Indigenous people were forcibly expelled from their ancestral homelands to make room for colonizers under the banner of the Indian Removal Act of 1830, leading to tens of thousands of deaths during the grueling relocation process.

Dawes Act:

• Legislation such as the Dawes Act of 1887 further strengthened the hand of government and encouraged the ubiquitous usurpation of native lands by colonizers.

Manifest destiny 1803-c.1898 & Latino population:

Manifest Destiny also fueled expansion into the Southwest and Western regions of what is now the United States and had a deleterious impact on the majority of the Mexican population that remained in those regions.

The social contracts agreed on by treaties were not fulfilled, and property rights were challenged by lawsuits resulting in widespread dispossession of Mexican land.

Legislation impacting Asian population:

 

Chinese Exclusion Act:

• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, was the first US law to prohibit immigration to America based solely on race.
  

1924 Immigration Act:

• Additional immigration restrictions were extended to other Asian populations with the passage of the 1924 Immigration Act, which simultaneously increased immigration opportunities for people from Northern and Western European countries.

WWII Internment Camps:

• During World War II, 120,000 Japanese Americans were placed in internment camps, despite being US citizens.

Legislation impacting Native Hawaiians:

The Resident Alien Act of 1850 gave foreigners the right to buy and own land in Hawaii.

Kuleana Act of 1850 brought the western concept of land ownership. It enabled the Land Commission to award parcels of land to commoners for subsistence purposes. Individuals would need to have land surveyed, present their claims to the Land Commission, file their claim by 1854.

Many native Hawaiians were unable to meet the requirements needed to obtain the titles and were virtually stripped of the lands they had lived on and cultivated for so long. As native Hawaiians lost their lands, foreigners took advantage of the Resident Alien Act and began buying and selling land in Hawaii.

“Inequalities in the United States are rooted in longstanding behaviors and beliefs.”

Slave diseases – described by Dr. Samuel Cartwright (1850’s):

Drapetomania – Mental illness that caused Black slaves to flee captivity. This disorder was a consequences of slave masters who made themselves too familiar with the slaves, treating them as equals.

Dysesthesia aethiopica – Mental illness that was proposed to cause laziness and disrespect for the master’s property among slaves. This disorder was prevalent more among “free negroes.”

Protest psychosis:

Walter Bromberg, M.D. & Frank Simon, Ph.D. described a specific type of reactive psychosis related to recent social-political activities.

Participation in activities, such as the civil rights movement was viewed as a contributing factor for aggressive and volatile schizophrenic symptoms.

Their article was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry in 1968.

“Two events re-exposed and re-emphasized inequities that have existed for generations and an epidemic impacting public health…”

Racism – a serious public health threat:

“Racism is not just the discrimination against one group based on the color of their skin, or their race or ethnicity, but the structural barriers  that impact racial and ethnic groups differently to influence where a person lives, where they work, where their children play, and where they worship and gather in community.

These social determinants of health have life-long negative effects on the mental and physical health of individuals in communities of color.”

Understanding the healthcare landscape…Where do I go for help?

• It can be an overwhelming process to try and reach a mental health provider.
• Where to begin
  • What questions should I ask?
  • My primary care doctor
  • My insurance company
  • Online resources
•  What questions should I ask?

Long waits & difficulty getting to appointments:

• Nearly half of Americans, or 46%, have had to, or know someone who has had to drive more than an hour roundtrip to seek treatment.
• Long waits – 96 million Americans, or 38%, have had to wait longer than one week for mental health treatments.

I can’t find a mental health provider?

• The United States is suffering from a shortage of psychiatrists and other mental health providers.
• This is particularly the case in rural, urban and community mental health centers that often treat the most severe mental illnesses.
• The importance of racial and linguistic concordance between provider and patient is supported by evidenced based research.

Select Personal Barriers:

• I’m to blessed to be stressed
• Misperceptions and/or misinformation about mental health and mental illness
• Worried what others might think if they seek help
• Negative prior experience with health provider

How can we promote mental health and wellness:

• • Accept that it’s okay not to be okay.
  • Taking care of your physical health, because your physical and mental health are connected.
  • Getting enough sleep. Sleep affects your mood.
  • Healthy eating. Good nutrition will help you feel better physically but could also improve your mood and decrease anxiety and stress.
  • Connecting with others. Having good social support may help protect you against the harms of stress.
  • Practicing mindfulness, meditation, or relaxation techniques.
  • Taking a break from negative information.

“Understand that Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorders are treatable“

988 Crisis line:

Provides 24/7 free and confidential support for people in suicidal, mental health and/or substance use crisis.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor and some style – Maya Angelou”

Make mental health your priority