Mental Health In The Black Community During COVID-19
African Americans have always had to carry an extra amount of weight on their shoulders. Slavery, Jim Crow, police brutality and the ongoing systematic racism in the forms of hate crimes, degrading stereotypes and many of the negative stigmas adding to the stress of being black in America. This is the shortlist of the societal barriers at our sides affecting our collective outlook and that of the individual’s own unique journey in life. No person can be perfectly lead a healthy life while silently walking around with these burdens especially with a COVID-19 constantly reshaping our health.
The Effects of The Coronavirus Pandemic
By now, we all know someone personally devastated by over three-hundred-thousand deaths in the United States and over 1.7 million worldwide due to the Coronavirus. Its lingering social effects through distancing has not been easy for anyone, but especially taxing for African Americans who are reminded that they are more susceptible to the virus due to factors outside of an individual’s health. In the BBC.com article ‘Coronavirus: Why Some Racial Groups Are More Vulnerable’, as of April 2020 72% of people in Chicago who died from the Coronavirus were black. This weighs heavy on the mind of many experiencing disparities in income, housing and predisposed health risks that have been accelerated by days of quarantine. People that are more likely to have these conditions will suffer a weakened immune system and lungs are more likely to test positive for COVID-19. Getting tested regularly, washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing and keeping yourself up-to-date with all new safety guidelines and other preventative measures.
Another Name On The List
The Black Lives Matter movement started in 2013 after the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2012 and the acquittal of his vigilante killer, George Zimmerman. Protests began nationwide in response to the familiar verdict of ‘not guilty’ heard when an injustice is lowered upon an African-American. The consecutive murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and most recently Andre Hill, who was shot three days before Christmas by Columbus police officer Adam Coy, added to the list of names unjustly taken away from those they loved far too soon. These events continually reopen wounds of trauma within the black community heightening a variety of feelings such as pain, anger, sadness, anxiety and the sense of having no power. This exposure of racism and killings through social media emotionally devastates. Racially-provoked trauma leads to depression, anxiety fatigue and many symptoms that relate to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
In the BBC article ‘Why Race Matters’ author Lola Jaye explains how the world is taking “a positive step, [but] it’s also a reminder that white people hold the power of discourse”. Previously, there was a constant silence that African Americans had to adapt so they could merely survive and best navigate through day-to-day life. Now the world has responded to Black pain. Systematic racism will not disappear overnight, but there are ways to begin healing from these traumas. This can be achieved by sharing how your pain affects you with someone you feel safe confiding in to reveal your feelings. This can be a licensed therapist or someone you trust. Lastly, it's important to develop a connection with your ethnic identity and to educate yourself on the positive aspects of your history. There are ways to process our pain. The first thing we must do collectively is to remove the taboos surrounding the relations between African Americans and mental health.
The Negative Stigma of Mental Health
There is a difficulty with acknowledging the psychological obstacles faced by members of our community. Some elders tend to see it as fragility. It is often seen as something that cannot be controlled or as a sign of instability. There is a lack of knowledge on mental health issues because it’s often hidden away from predominantly black neighborhoods, which leads many to detrimentally self-medicate with alcohol and drugs to numb the pain. Or, in many instances, simply ignore the problem altogether. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) 2018 National Survey on Health and Drugs stated that binge drinking, smoking and illicit drug use are more frequent methods of coping among African-American adults. Masking pain is something many of us can relate to because there is an age-old mentality of being strong and consistently trying to move forward through silent endurance. Anxiety forces some to overindulge in actions that deplete their general health. The high amount of fast-food delivered, alcohol consumed and other vices took in isolation are products of the depression from this pandemic which something that everyone—regardless of color—has experienced this year. However, these actions heighten patterns that do us harm according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). “African Americans ages 18-49 are two times as likely to die from heart disease than whites. African Americans ages 35-64 years are 50% more likely to have high blood pressure than whites.”
Many people in our community have been fed an unhealthy diet of notions that one has to be able to silently absorb the communal and personal traumas as our ancestors. For example, most black men have been taught not to cry because it reveals pain--a sign of weakness. Many try to conceal their depression due to the fear of being ridiculed or emasculated by peers and loved ones as the inner pain slowly devours them. Black women have been conditioned to overlook their own internal pain for the purpose of sustaining others first. The masking of it all with a quiet endurance to all issues is viewed as a trait of strength ignoring the debilitative strain it puts on them personally in a society that rarely gives them a headline when they go missing.
Suicide rates rise this festive time of year where many feel the void of those who are no longer here and the angst linked to the fears associated with the coming year. Thankfully, for everyone, the forum of honest conversation that is social media has raised more awareness on the importance of mental health in recent years through first-person testimonies. Keeping this conversation at the forefront is a collective step in the right direction. We all must be honest with ourselves individually before we can lend an open ear to a friend in need. It is one of the factors in an unpredictable time that we can attempt to try and collectively approach with the hopes of improving our lives and those we know and love to make a significant change.