My Own Mental Health, A Baby Boomer's Perspective
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Posted By: Bryan Jones on May 25, 2012 Nothing in life is more precious than good health, mental and physical, without either, we are resigned to a complicated existence, one that is filled with heartache and pain. Sometimes issues that are physical in nature are difficult to avoid, whether they are derived at birth or occur later, due to accidents or degenerative diseases. In most cases, a rehabilitative process is encouraged and applied to deal with problems of physicality, practices that are acceptable to the vast majority of society. As far as problems that deal with the mental, many of us are uncomfortable talking about such issues and are far less willing to admit that we suffer from some type of mental illness. Just hearing the phrase makes many of us cringe and causes us to conjure up images like the character Raymond in Rain Man, but typically, sufferers of mental illnesses appear typical and it should be pointed out that these illnesses are medical in nature and must be treated as such, if a person that is affected is to enjoy a satisfying and fulfilled life. Surprisingly, many of us may either know or are experiencing ourselves one of several common mental disorders, such as depression or an eating disorder. Several other mental ailments that are common within our society are schizophrenia, panic attacks, fears and phobias, or many of the addictions fostered by substance and alcohol abuse. Without proper diagnosis or treatment, these illnesses can cause miseries in one’s life and misery for the people around a mental illness sufferer. I know, it’s one of those subjects that we hate to discuss and you are probably wondering why I picked this topic for my latest blog post. My answer to that would be, for my own mental health. Often in life, we can find ourselves going against the grain it seems, worried about whether we fit in or we become concerned over little things that become BIG THINGS, due to an obsessive attentiveness, where we give too much thought to what others think of us. Complications can arise out of nowhere, a job loss, the death of someone significant in our lives, a relationship gone bad or even news of physical diagnosis, such as cancer, can lead to the dark path of depression. I use this phrase, when it appears that I’m teetering on the brink, fighting off the willingness to become consumed by life’s difficult entrapments, “I look for the sunshine,” is how I began to deal with personal issues of life, a way of making a positive out of a negative. Everyone should have a coping mechanism, someone to talk to, or something to rescue them from the darkness of the mind. As a Baby Boomer, having experience a lot, having failed and having the ability to rise up from my failures and continue along my journey, I have discovered writing as my way to cope. It allows me to talk out things that are on my mind, which helps me to maintain my mental health. For many, a way to cope is blocked by avoidance and an unwillingness to admit that we need help sorting out the issues that plagues us. And often the people around us conspire with us, as you see in the cases of family members who abuse alcohol and drugs, instead of an encouragement for their love ones to get help, they become caught up in the cycle of co-dependency, ignoring the obvious, until an arrest or a set of tragic circumstances forces everyone involved to “get real.” A prominent characteristic of mental illness is, it doesn’t discriminate. Any age group, race or ethnicity, income bracket and religious persuasion are victimized by issues of mental health. In America’s society of complexities, 1 out of every 17 of us is dealing with a mental health issue. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) “one in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year” Diagnosis is a key, but difficult to ascertain without a willingness to seek help. Stigmataion of the disease prevents many from getting help and nowhere is this truer than in the African-American community. NAMI Fact Sheet, Concerning African-Americans. NAMI has put out a fact sheet and I have provided a link for more information on the subject, as it affect African-American. One of the things that I found most disturbing in the NAMI report is the rise in suicides among African-Americans suffering from mental ailments. “Across a recent 15-year span, suicide rates increased 233 percent among African Americans aged 10-14 compared to 120 percent among Caucasian American in the same age group across the same span of time.” That is alarming, sad and disturbing, an outcry from African-American youths and a suggestion of troubled souls with apparently nowhere to turn. Many socioeconomic barriers affect the mental health of African-American children, but none of those barriers should snuff out the light of promise before it has a chance to shine. NAMI also informs us: “Mental illness is frequently stigmatized and misunderstood in the African American community. African Americans are much more likely to seek help though their primary care doctors as opposed to accessing specialty care.” That stigmatization is also fostered by the strategies use to treat mental illness, psychological evaluations, speaking with a psychologists or psychiatrist, “things that crazy people do,” and the pharmacological treatments, utilizing drugs like Ritalin and Adderall for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. (ADHD), which when I was a child, was misdiagnosed as a child being hyper because of his sugar intake and the cure for such behavior, “a strap or a belt.” I chose this topic, because of my own mental health. I am bothered by what I see during my daily journey into the broader world. I see people that we called the “Homeless,” many of them suffering from obvious mental health issues. I personally know children that have been diagnosed with ADHD and I see some that haven’t been, but the traits of the disease is obvious and I see parents who don’t want to talk about their child’s condition, the same as adults who try to ignore the alcohol and drug abuse of a love one, despite that love one’s continued use is causing nothing but headache and pain. The same can be said of returning servicemen, having been abused by their government for volunteering to serve their country, a nation that displayed their appreciation by making them serve several deployments in never ending wars and when they return home, they face congressional battles that limits the Veterans Administration from attending adequately to their mental health needs. I write about this issue, because I know that from time to time, everyone has a period of “going through.” The message that I am trying to get across is that you don’t have to go through it alone. There is help, but that help can only be obtain if you open your mouth and ask for it. And remember, look for the sunshine. It will always brightened your day. thaddeustruth.com If you enjoyed this article, Join HBCU CONNECT today for similar content and opportunities via email! |
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Bryan Jones
Digital Publisher, Umoja Publishing Grambling State University class of 1979 Member Since April 2012 |
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