Black Folks and Mental Health

Black Folk and Mental Health

"A woman in harmony with her spirit is like a river flowing. She goes where she will without pretense and arrives at her destination prepared to be herself and only herself", Maya Angelou. Once a woman finds her strength, she becomes unstoppable. Once a black woman gains her strength, she becomes unmeasurable. The power of black people has been depicted in many ways throughout the years. While there is an equal truth to myth balance about black people, many have failed to expose the hidden struggle embedded in black strength. That is, until now. Dr. Rheeda Walker, the author of The Unapologetic Guide To Black Mental Health, has boldly stood in the gap to help black women across the world. In her book, she educates, desensitizes, and cultivates the black culture on mental health. Dr. Walker coined the term psychological fortitude (PF), derived from "mental fortitude" and "mental toughness," describing one's level of mental resilience. This term helps black individuals establish a higher level of psychological protection while living in an intense spiritual, physical, and mental warfare world. This concept allows one to check their psychological well-being and assess their needs as often as warranted with ease. Dr. Walker urges the culture to inherit this concept as an automatic response to life stressors to establish a healthy lifestyle. Through this book, I believe the black culture will relearn how to come in harmony with their spirit and flow like a river, arriving at our destination as the healthy black people we were created to be.

For years, black women have failed to yield to the undeniable presence of life stressors. Many have taken on the superwomen mentality and did what was necessary to make it through the day, week, month, and year. While Dr. Walker highlights this desire to persevere, she stresses the need to overshadow this desire with education on its effect. Sometimes with perseverance, comes unwarranted anxiety and depression. Both of which are mental health concerns that could bare crippling effects. Dr. Walker emphasizes the relationship between the black culture's strength, Afrocentric roots, and religious beliefs. Having faith in a higher power provides a spiritual backing and allows room to relinquish burdens. Knowing where you come from and who you are, instills a sense of proudness about oneself.

Unfortunately, our blackness has lost its spiritual backing and disconnected from its Afrocentric roots to engage in abnormal behaviors. This abnormal behavior is identified as suicide, and Dr. Walker confirms the cultures lost identity by exploring the alarming rates of death by suicide in adolescents of the black community. The number of deaths by suicide in the black community is not just numbers; it is an alarm going off to alert the community of danger. Simply put, Dr. Walker advises the black community to be honest about our experiences. She challenges us to be real about our lives, acknowledging the pain, weakness, and need for reeducation.

Could it be that people aren't afraid of their reality; they just have a hard time facing the truth. The truth is that mental health issues are real, and they have a real effect on the body's psychological and physical aspects. Acceptance of this will present the opportunity to explore mental health and desensitize its mention in the black community. Dr. Walker explores the resistance to discussing mental health, especially suicide. She stresses the importance of acknowledging the risk of suicide, knowing when to implement interventions, and how to accept emotional hurt.

As we desensitize, it's time to reexamine the lifestyle of black people. Could it be that "The Culture" causes many blacks to low-key commit suicide? Type II diabetes, hypertension, heart problems are all high-risk factors for death in the black community. Yet, we still attend family gather with large cholesterol filled meals and indulge in double or triple portion sizes of food. We eat until we get the "it is" and can no longer go. Then sleep it off and go back for more without the thought of engaging in some physical activity. By no means am I discouraging the root of family time, but maybe it's time to rethink how we acknowledge our love for each other.

This blog is a short highlighted view of Dr. Rheeda Walker’s book, The Unapologetic Guide To Black Mental Health. I discussed in this blog my personal highlights of the book. Dr. Walker provides a deeper discussion about black mental health, especially for black women, and ways to cope with stressors, racism, and mental illnesses. I encourage everyone reading this blog to read Dr. Walker’s book. I promise you will not be disappointed. As a matter of fact, you will most likely, after reading this book, you’ll have an epiphany of an experience and be prompted to reevaluate how you are living your wonderful black life.