Brown and Down: We Got The Blues Too

This week has been a little rough on me.  From vehicle issues to having my bank card information compromised, I haven't been feeling exactly chipper.  In fact, there are many times where I feel myself down in the dumps sometimes for days at a time.


In my previous post, I talked about My Happiness Project, which is more of a mental listing exercise to highlight positive things in life to bring up my mood.  While this definitely works for me, I know plenty of people who's suffering is far to great for the project to conquer.  Many of these people are young, African-American women, such as myself.   African-American women are a segment of the population that suffer with depression and almost are overlooked. The National Alliance on Mental Illness reports that "Many African American women do not seek treatment because it is viewed as a personal weakness, not a health problem. Only 12 percent of African American women seek help and/or treatment."
(http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Mental_Illnesses/Women_and_Depression/Depression_and_African_American_Women_Fact_Sheet.htm)


The organization also goes on to state that  Caucasian Americans tend to suffer more often from the illness but African-American women tend to suffer more severely and persistently. The cause of this stems from many factors such as societal and environmental factors, having to deal with racism as a part of everyday life, economic factors, and even the legacy  and shame of slavery that is still felt in the African-American community.  Black women are less likely to get help due to appearing crazy (which is a stigma that figures largely in our own community), weak (as the article suggests), and because it is costly. Because of these factors, we often suffer in silence or are perceived as angry and lazy. Unfortunately with a delay in treatment or misdiagnosis (which happens more often than not), the consequences could be fatal as depression and suicide often go hand in hand.  With so much pressure surrounding us to be the strong ones, many of us hide until it is too late. 


I write this in memory of two lovely women that I never met: Karyn Washington, the creator of For Brown Girls and Mia Fuqua, a friend of a friend who was very much involved in the Confessions of a Modern Black Woman forum on Facebook.  Both of them made a deep impact in the lives of others in their short time here on earth and left too soon. 


I do not know what these two women were battling when they decided that they couldn't take it any longer, all I know is that this is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. We are not invisible, we have pain too.  However, we as a community need to do our part in ridding ourselves of this notion that we are so stoic and have experienced so greatly that nothing harms us.  We are not completely desensitized... and we are human.


As Modern Black Women, we must begin to understand that no stigma or stereotype is greater than the importance of our health and well being.  It is essential that if we are feeling sad and blue that we make every effort to get the help and treatment that is needed, especially if depression is interrupting our lives.  If you don't feel comfortable talking to a healthcare provider at first, talk to a trusted family member or friend. If you don't feel comfortable there and you believe, then talk to your Creator. Talk to me! Know that you are not alone.


And as always, know that things can and will get better! Remember the Happiness Project and that somebody loves you.