Mental Health Awareness
One of the reasons I chose to get my master’s degree in counseling is because I saw the lack of support for people suffering from mental health issues in the black community. I was more disappointed in how my own culture and community dismissed mental health issues or minimized it to a character flaw because it’s much more than that.
Mental health should be taken more seriously in the black and African community because we suffer silently. People that are bold enough to admit that they suffer from mental health issues are usually mocked by others that lack understanding of how mental issues affect people’s lives. It’s imperative that black people get more involved in mental health awareness because the field needs our help to reach those in our local communities. I also worry that non-black mental health professionals have a difficult time fully understanding the complexities of how mental health is affected by the black experience, therefore we must step in to fill prevent misdiagnosing and miseducation.
So, in honor of mental health awareness week, I’m providing a few resources for you to begin with. Please take time to look up events and organizations in your local community to support and share. Happy Mental Health Awareness.
National Alliance of Mental Health
