What is Minority Mental Health Awareness Month?
By Tiffany “TJ” Joseph, Bened Life Neurodiversity & Disability Specialist
Minority Mental Health Awareness Month occurs every July. It is a month geared toward enlightening people in minority spaces that stigma and shame have no place within our communities, and that acceptance is the path forward.
The full name of the month is Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. Bebe Moore Campbell called attention to the relentless stigma faced by people with mental health disorders within communities of color. To battle this stigma, she advocated for a bill for a named month that would raise awareness. She passed away two years before it was finally passed.
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) says,
“In 2008, July was designated as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month by the U.S. House of Representatives…[At] NAMI, we continue to recognize the importance of honoring Bebe Moore Campbell. Her trailblazing work in helping to shift the mental health culture and break down systemic barriers in underserved communities should be recognized forever.”
Why Does Minority Mental Health Awareness Month Matter?
In many minority communities in the US, it’s common to believe that someone has “failed” if they have mental illness.
Instead of thinking of mental health as an extension of the health of our bodies, we think having mental health struggles means someone is failing at life or possessed by evil entities. Many times, I have heard from family members and others in my life that I need to pray away my mental illness instead of taking medicine.
Stigma around mental health in our communities forms a vicious cycle with underdiagnosis and undertreatment. Stigma causes shame, and shame causes people to hide instead of getting the help they need. Sometimes, people hide until it’s too late, and their mental illness results in a serious incident or a run-in with law enforcement.
Challenges in Minority Mental Health Care
Those who DO seek help may be misdiagnosed or underdiagnosed due to the bias or lack of cultural training of mental health professionals. And those who are diagnosed may find treatment difficult to access. While this is true in general, many minorities may have poor mental health insurance coverage and/or less access to proper healthcare, especially mental healthcare. Disparities in mental health care amongst minority communities are well documented.
In many minority families, people do not know anyone who has received a mental health diagnosis or been successfully treated with therapy or medication. This can lead to a belief that minorities don’t get mental illness, a lack of understanding about where to go for help, and a perception that mental health treatment is “not for us.”
Due to our intersections of disability and being a minority, it can be hard for our respective communities to see past the daily stress of just trying to survive. Owing to this, we tend not to accept mental illness in others nor ourselves. Erasing the sense of shame in mental illness in our communities will not be easy.
Overcoming Mental Health Stigma in Minority Communities
If stamping out stigma and shame from our communities is step one, step two would be acceptance. Bebe Moore Campbell also said that “once my loved ones accepted my diagnosis, healing began….” Acceptance is one of the hardest steps because we as a society and individuals have been conditioned and indoctrinated to believe mental illness is inherently shameful. If that is something we have believed our whole lives without question, it’s hard to unlearn that. But it’s necessary. Unlearning that shame is life-saving. And acceptance is one way of unlearning stigma surrounding mental illness.
We can accept that mental illness is no more shameful than a physical illness, which is to say: not shameful at all. Everyone goes through physical illness from time to time. It’s human nature. Some people struggle more with their physical health. That is no different than mental health; some have little blips here and there while some have more health battles. Having a mental condition doesn’t make anyone less than, despite how some may try to make a person feel about it.
Acceptance also means forgiveness of ourselves and our mentally ill family and friends. There’s a saying when a child is causing trouble for adults that “they are having a hard time, not giving the adults a hard time.” Knowing that people are having a hard time and not giving others a hard time during mental breaks is good to keep in mind for not only our loved ones but also for ourselves. When I get down on myself for not exercising while too depressed, I should be telling myself that I didn’t fail in motivating myself, but I was nursing a mental injury. The same grace can be extended to my loved ones with mental health conditions.
What makes acceptance so hard in minority communities? We call them ~isms. These are racism, sexism, capitalism, et cetera. When people face lower wages and the other daily effects of racism and/ or misogyny, stress is increased. Combined with the strong stigma of mental illness and daily stress, nobody wants to be the cause of yet more stress in our loved ones’ lives. Not getting diagnosed, staying away from therapy, dealing with hard things on our own is the result of hiding. We hide our struggles away, even when they could very well be helped by reaching out instead.
As someone diagnosed with multiple mental illnesses, I feel that getting help was the best thing I ever did for my life. I have therapy, use medication, and talk freely about my struggles. As mentioned above, not everyone has access to mental healthcare coverage. But I want to normalize reaching out to family, professionals, 988 (Suicide and Crisis Lifeline), or friends near or far about any mental health struggles.
About the author:
TJ is a BiPOC Autistic adult working in “accessible education” with teen and young adult Autistic nonspeakers. Their passion in the disability space is communication and education rights for people of all disabilities. Find TJ on social media at Nigh Functioning Autism.
Recommended reading:
https://www.apa.org/pi/disability/resources/mental-health-disparities
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