The objective of this article is not to incite negative feelings towards other races, nor is it to undermine anyone else’s depression, rather, I am shining a light on an issue towards the black community who some of the members thereof refuse to acknowledge.
By doing so, I hope to rekindle relationships with family members, friends, etc. who once did not take their loved ones depression seriously.
Personally, coming from a black family, parents pride themselves with having raised great kids, putting a roof over their family’s heads and making sure they have food in their stomachs. However, because the heads of these families see no reason for their children to be depressed, seeing that they have provided them the world and more, their feelings are strewn to the side and belittled.
Their parents believe that there is no possible way they can be upset about anything in the life that they have given them.
Also, according to "HuffPost," because mental health is a taboo subject in the African-American community, black people are not only the least likely groups to be treated or seek treatment for depression, they’re also less likely than other groups to even acknowledge it as a serious problem.
Let it be made very coherent that depression has no name, color, shape, or form, but cultural and gender differences can cause depression to be experienced and expressed differently in African Americans. These differences have a major impact on whether and how black people are treated for depression.
Although some of us refuse to acknowledge the depression amongst our families and others immediate to us, one of the greatest barriers keeping African Americans from receiving treatment for depression is a staggering history of discrimination and a deep mistrust of health care institutions in the U.S. which can cause blacks to refuse help when they need it.
Despite the many challenges blacks face with mental help and depression, we have been able to develop alternative coping techniques, such as utilizing support systems with communities and religious institutions.
However, it does not highlight the other majority of blacks who don’t have this support or assistance. So, do not lose hope to those who may be in desolate situations.
Even when you think all hope is lost, there is always someone willing to help you out and coax you through your depression.
The longest journeys are completed one step at a time, and modest efforts to begin a serious discussion about this issue could conceivably yield big dividends in the future.
