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'We don't suffer from Mental Health, that's a white people problem'


“The stigmatisation of mental health in the afro Caribbean community is a big issue. They teach you how to be strong and any sign of poor mental health is a weakness”

Mental health is an issue that is never really discussed in the black community. Point. Blank. Period. This is such a serious issue that it is even being depicted in modern day black TV shows. A recent example coming from the popular TV drama Empire in which ‘Cookie’ states: ‘my son isn’t cuckoo that’s a white people problem.’ (In regards to his bipolar disorder)

His dad claims ‘mental illness does not happen in this family’ this is similar to homophobia in the black community while they are not same they are both fuelled by the same thing - ignorance. This ignorance seems to be because black people think being a minority is bad enough why add another label unto yourself, hence the neglect and refusing to see mental health as a real breathing thing.

In general, people from Black and Ethnic minority groups living in the UK are two times more likely to be diagnosed with mental health issues. They are also more likely to be diagnosed and sent to hospital; more likely to experience poor outcome from treatment. This results in them disengaging from mainstream treatment. Then resulting in social exclusion and further deterioration in their health (according to mental health foundation UK) Risk factors such as racism, poverty and cultural differences may play a role in this.

Mainstream mental health ‘seems to be only for white people.’ failing to understand cultural differences which are then heightened by the black community’s reluctance to engage with such programmes. Over-diagnosis is also common in those whose first language isn’t English which increases the rift; probably as to why mental health issues are dismissed as ‘white people problems’ as they have accessibility to treatment appropriately tailored to them.

Statistically, Afro - Caribbeans in the UK have much lower rates of common mental health issues but are more likely to be diagnosed with more severe mental illnesses; they are 3 to 5 times more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia. They are also more likely to enter mental health through the courts or police and not primary care which is the main route for others. Consequently, they are then treated under a section of the mental health act and given medication. Rather than being given the option of psychological treatments such as psychoanalysis or CBT.

Conversely, this may be an issue of ‘cause and effect’ due to the fact they are reluctant to engage in the first place meaning they are much more ill when they actually do.

In my own family mental illness is something that has been blatantly ignored. I’ve had members of my family been sent away to mental asylums and still the potency of mental health issues has been denounced to ‘white people problems’ it’s such a problem in the community that if someone else in the family even claims to be facing mental health issues we dismiss them in exactly the same way.

The same three responses are always produced: ‘we’re not white’ ‘I’ll pray for you’ and ‘you’re exaggerating’ so why do we fail to acknowledge something that is true?

Ultimately I think it boils down to religion in the book of Proverbs (18:21) it states ‘death and life are in the power of the tongue’ so whatever you say will be spoken into existence so claiming to have these issues will only manifest them into reality which religious people don’t want to do.

On the other hand I think it is pure ignorance and lack of education on such issues - refusing to acknowledge something as real doesn’t solve the problem it in fact heightens it. So why don’t we take time to speak to our children about their problems instead of dismissing them as trivial.

I understand the reasoning of the aforementioned point of it ‘adding more problems to the already difficult task of being a minority’ but surely if we tackle these issues head on it will help to alleviate and solve some of the other issues we suffer in the community today.

I feel like many problems in the black community are interconnected so we begin to acknowledge mental health as real maybe will be able to deal with the taboo surrounding other things such as homosexuality.

Eventually resulting in us building ourselves up as community and as a people bit by bit.

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