Comments on: Mental health and African Americans http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/ The Future is Here Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:26:42 -0700 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: tan http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/comment-page-1/#comment-6229 tan Tue, 17 Jul 2007 19:19:26 +0000 http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/#comment-6229 it is so ironic that you had this blog posted. i just had this conversation with a friend the other day. just in the past month i discovered that three of my friends struggle with some form of mental despair. i was hopeful b/c the conversation i had with one was frank and candid. she actually jokes about her panic attacks & depression. the reason she can laugh is b/c she sought help & got it. we tend to overlook mental illness. i know you have said or even heard... "awww you know aunt janie is crazy. we just ignore her." we make light of it. you touched on something that i know tends to keep us from seeking help. yes we are a resilient people. we carry and have carried much on our backs. the more you put on someone's back the heavier that load gets. at some point it will cripple you. one can't carry everything. mental disorders are obviously health related...genetics. however, i think w/in our community we can add that underlying factor of stress. identifying it, admitting it, and getting treatment are things we just don't know how to do. why? b/c it is never really addressed. so like many other things, until we put it out there, it will be just swept under the rug. it is so ironic that you had this blog posted. i just had this conversation with a friend the other day. just in the past month i discovered that three of my friends struggle with some form of mental despair. i was hopeful b/c the conversation i had with one was frank and candid. she actually jokes about her panic attacks & depression. the reason she can laugh is b/c she sought help & got it.

we tend to overlook mental illness. i know you have said or even heard… “awww you know aunt janie is crazy. we just ignore her.” we make light of it. you touched on something that i know tends to keep us from seeking help. yes we are a resilient people. we carry and have carried much on our backs. the more you put on someone’s back the heavier that load gets. at some point it will cripple you. one can’t carry everything. mental disorders are obviously health related…genetics. however, i think w/in our community we can add that underlying factor of stress. identifying it, admitting it, and getting treatment are things we just don’t know how to do. why? b/c it is never really addressed. so like many other things, until we put it out there, it will be just swept under the rug.

]]> By: Lester Spence http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/comment-page-1/#comment-6085 Lester Spence Fri, 13 Jul 2007 04:41:18 +0000 http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/#comment-6085 Maybe. But--and this may be related--it could also be that this is the first generation of black people who've had to deal with this SPECIFIC consequence of mental illness. Maybe. But–and this may be related–it could also be that this is the first generation of black people who’ve had to deal with this SPECIFIC consequence of mental illness.

]]> By: invisiblewoman http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/comment-page-1/#comment-6080 invisiblewoman Fri, 13 Jul 2007 03:02:40 +0000 http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/#comment-6080 I have talks about this with one of my girlfriends sometimes. Our community tends to say "oh you know so and so, he's just crazy" or "that way", or we pretend not to notice at all. I think this generation coming up now is the first to look beyond the surface, because they are really the first not to make their lives straight survival first....they have parents who have made it to some degree. IMO I have talks about this with one of my girlfriends sometimes. Our community tends to say “oh you know so and so, he’s just crazy” or “that way”, or we pretend not to notice at all. I think this generation coming up now is the first to look beyond the surface, because they are really the first not to make their lives straight survival first….they have parents who have made it to some degree. IMO

]]> By: cnulan http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/comment-page-1/#comment-6058 cnulan Thu, 12 Jul 2007 15:04:31 +0000 http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/#comment-6058 I second tootsie. The intergenerational connections are indispensable across various axis of communal health and vitality. I second tootsie.

The intergenerational connections are indispensable across various axis of communal health and vitality.

]]> By: tootsie http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/comment-page-1/#comment-6053 tootsie Thu, 12 Jul 2007 12:06:44 +0000 http://blacksmythe.com/blog/2007/07/11/mental-health-and-african-americans/#comment-6053 Doc historically Blacks have been nutured by the extended family concept, we must reconnect with this, especially a relationship between the elders and the young.This is not a cure all but often life repeats itself . Doc historically Blacks have been nutured by the extended family concept, we must reconnect with this, especially a relationship between the elders and the young.This is not a cure all but often life repeats itself .

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