op-ed: mental illness is not a white man’s disease. please get help.

Black America still has a lot of waking up to do when it comes to mental illness. A lot of black people are still under the impression that mental illness makes you weak or just flat out crazy. However in reality it just makes you sick because it’s an illness.

By Jasmin Pierre*, AFROPUNK contributor

Growing up I actually use to feel the same way. I remember back in the day while watching one of my favorite shows called “girlfriends” The main character Joan was having some mental health issues. She told her girls about possibly seeing a therapist. Her friend Maya goes on to say

“Girl that’s for white people we don’t go to therapy we go to Church”

I remember I laughed so hard at that statement and nodded my head in agreement. I was about fourteen at that time I believe. I really didn’t know any better about mental health. I just knew that the black community really didn’t accept it. I knew that it was hushed up like some dirty little secret. Mental illness really didnt matter that much to me. That’s until I tried to commit suicide as an adult. I was diagnosed with depression being so chronic I was hospitalized for it twice. Imagine my shame and embarrassment.

The same mental illness I didn’t understand and laughed off became my life for years. Sometimes you will never understand something fully until you have been through it yourself. Being a black woman and depressed was not easy. I tried to deny it even after I was diagnosed. I didn’t want to be called crazy or ” The Angry Black Woman” because my illness sometimes caused mood swings. I didn’t want someone to tell me to have faith and “Just Pray” my illness away. I had already been praying. I needed help. Faith without works is dead after all.

It wasn’t until I was no longer afraid or ashamed that I allowed myself to really be helped and to actually find a treatment that lead me to recovery. That took seven years. Sometimes I wonder if I would have came to acceptance sooner would I have suffered as long as I did?

So many people of color are still living in denial with a mental illness. So many are still ashamed to go get help in fear of being judged. Well my brothers and sisters I just want to tell you getting help is better than trying to committ suicide because you feel you don’t have any other way ouy. Getting help inspite of the stigma you may face in the black community won’t make you weak but it will make you strong.

Mental illness is not a white man’s disease. It can happen to anyone at anytime. Please go get help. Your life matters.

Artwork by Jordan Casteel

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*Jasmin Pierre is a 27-year-old mental health activist and author of the new self help book “A Fight Worth Finishing”. She is from New Orleans, Louisiana. Jasmin is constantly fighting for the rights of those suffering from major depressive disorder. She inspires to become a life coach and continue writing to encourage others to never give up.