intro: the reason I wanted to do this presentation is that before the pandemic, there was an epidemic in mental health already, and at the start and through the pandemic there a huge rise in mental health- because of various reasons- mandatory lockdown meaning we could not go anywhere, everything was shut down, a lot of people was laid off of there jobs and some even were permanently let go, this pandemic have brought nothing but stress and really shined a light on mental health, and couple years ago I did research on suicide and that’s part of mental health, actually that’s the last and most devastating thing, we want to prevent that from happening, so I wanted to do this research on mental health all the way around as a whole thing. the goal of this presentation is to talk about this most important thing but to also uplift and encourage and ultimately preventing suicides from happening because it’s an epidemic all because of mental health. so we have to learn to MANAGE our mental health. getting knowledge and history and resources and solutions is the best thing we can do.
*First, I want to say is every percentage we give is to give an idea of what we talking about, the number could be higher or lower. it changes consistency or daily.*
body: I wanted to do research on mental health but I find that a certain group is affected by it more than others and that is the black community.
I find this great article that really explains it well.
it’s by a mental health clinician, Thomas A. Vance, Ph.D.
true social justice among the black community will remain incomplete until mental health disparities among this group are addressed. mental health is an essential part of overall physical health and satisfaction. the black community suffers from an increased rate of mental health concerns, including anxiety and depression. lack of access to appropriate and culturally responsive mental health care, prejudice and racism inherent in the daily environment of black individuals, historical trauma enacted on the black community by the medical field. classism, ageism, economic insecurity, violence, and criminal injustice further serve to compound the mental health disparities in the black population.– my thought: years ago poison was injected into black people to test on, their trauma from the medical field regarding these vaccine shots for covid-19, here is the story: Tuskegee Syphilis Study – Wikipedia if you read that you will understand why many black peoples haven’t yet or will not get the vaccine shots because there a distrust from the medical field. so how can we fix it? and stop it? because it’s not right it’s wrong and it needs to stop period. we need to find the sources for each one of these and stop it or kill it, so it does not happen anymore.
systematic barriers: 12% of the united states is black population, 40% homeless population, 50% of the prison population 45% of children in the foster care system. Research shows that exposure to violence, incarceration, and involvement in the foster care system can increase the chances of developing a mental illness. Consequently, the Black community, in particular, is at significantly increased risk of developing a mental health issue due to historical, economic, social, political influences that systemically expose the Black community to factors known to be damaging to psychological and physical health. Research consistently shows that these disparities are not a new phenomenon and have been present for generations. Historically, the Black community was and continues to be disadvantaged in mental health through subjection to trauma through enslavement, oppression, colonialism, racism, and segregation. A growing body of research suggests that traumatic experiences can cause profound biological changes in the person experiencing the traumatic event. Cutting-edge researchers are also beginning to understand how these physiological changes are genetically encoded and passed down to future generations. These findings suggest that in addition to the cultural and psychological inheritance of trauma, intergenerational trauma may be passed down biologically from one generation to the next. my thought: those percentages say a lot, it speaks volumes, blacks make up a small part of the united states but yet, 50% of the prison population is black. SMH! what I really found interesting is trauma may be passed down biologically from enslavement from one generation to another, so I wanted to dig a little deeper into this and just see how is this, and this is the article I found: Black Families Have Inherited Trauma, but We Can Change That (healthline.com) you should really check it out it’s really good when I was reading it, it was really telling me how important to learn our family history so we know who we are, and our family history can tell us a lot about our family, ourselves, and our family traumas. so for example, if you suffer from depression there could be a possibility your ancestors suffered from the same thing and passed it down through future generations to you. Deep, i know!
“The stigma associated with mental health concerns”:
Despite progress in recent years, there is still a significant stigma associated with mental health concerns. In the Black community, there is often difficulty acknowledging psychological difficulties, but useful strategies including religious coping and methods such as pastoral guidance and prayer often are the most preferred coping mechanism. Destigmatizing mental health can be achieved by helping people, especially in the Black community, to understand that mental health is an essential part of well-being — just like a healthy diet, sleep, and exercise.
These ideas often lead people to believe that a mental health condition is a personal weakness due to negative stereotypes of instability and attitudes of rejection. Because of this lack of information about mental health issues in the Black community, it is not always clear when one may need it or where to find help. There is also a need for improved cultural awareness and corresponding responsiveness in the health care and mental health workforce. Research has found that the lack of cultural responsiveness from the therapist, cultural mistrust, and potential negative views from the therapist associated with stigma impact the provision of mental health services in the Black community. Luckily, with the rise of social media and improved awareness related to mental health, the development of and funding for culturally responsive mental health treatment are increasing. my thought: it is so hard for (us) the black community to acknowledge we have psychological difficulties, usually that’s what happens people depend on their church for help but when it comes to mental health that’s not where it found especially deep depression, a therapist needs to step in and help.
my concluded thought: we need to take care of our well-being, its ok to say I’m not doing good today and asking for help. need to have a therapist or at least a MATURE PERSON or a trusted person we can talk to about our thoughts, problems, concerns, issues, dreams (good or bad) I mention dreams because we can have bad dreams and it could affect us in the wrong way so telling it or expressing it to someone will take it out of thought, and whatever we are going through, when we do that we are releasing a lot of stress and tension from our body, also after we have talked to someone LEAVE IT THERE DONT LET IT RE-ENTER. UNLOAD IT AND LEAVE IT THERE AND MOVE ON.
suggestion: if you do seek a therapist if your first therapist doesn’t work or fit for you, keep trying finding until one fit for you personally.
Mix Of Things 
this is really needed at this time! matter of fact anytime! but especially at a time like this during this pandemic!
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