Seeking Help for Mental Health

Edited by Catherine Verdeflor

As society continues to progress and advance in its knowledge within healthcare, the importance of taking care of one’s mental health just as much, if not even more than their physical health, is beginning to be recognized. And along with other facets of medicine and health within the field, minorities are affected by mental illness at a disproportionately larger rate than their white counterparts.

Like many afflictions that affect minority communities routinely, the disproportionate rate at which they suffer from mental health conditions is caused by many pre-existing factors that black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) face due to discrimination. Common factors that contribute to such disparities in mental health conditions and seeking medical assistance for these illnesses include: a lack of insurance, language, stigmas, poverty, distrust in healthcare, a lack of diversity, and/or a lack of cultural competency (many factors that have been discussed, in fact, in earlier blog posts). As explored in ‘The Treatment of Minority Women in Healthcare’ post, many expectant mothers find it hard to reach healthcare clinics to receive medical treatment for prenatal as well as postpartum care for their pregnancies; these occurrences are often caused by “redlining” and other discriminatory practices. These methods for blocking minorities from being able to seek aid for health rear their ugly heads in every aspect of BIPOC life. Additionally, these same means for restricting access to healthcare play a role in the lack of access to mental health services.

Given that language served as a means for restricting the voting rights of American citizens up until a 1975 extension of the Voting Rights act was passed, it should come as no shock that it is a factor capable of hindering minorities from receiving medical attention for any potential mental condition. Many people of color either do not speak English at all or, if fluent, still find it difficult to communicate with others in the language and are more comfortable speaking their native tongue. As a result, when they arrive at a clinic for assistance, rarely can they find any help as it is likely that there is no staff member available that can understand them and their symptoms/needs. For this reason, a lack of diversity and cultural competency among healthcare professionals also plays a part in the inability for many members of minority communities to receive healthcare for their mental health. This factor, if left unchecked, can be particularly severe. Furthermore, most well-known suicide hotline prevention hotlines only allow access to English-speaking operators, making non-English speaking individuals less likely to receive the help that they need.

The depth and severity of mental illnesses is something that has just recently begun to be researched and taken seriously within American culture; however, for many others, mental health remains stigmatized and misunderstood. Since mental illnesses have no physical signs or symptoms, it has become normal for many civilizations to dismiss the presence of poor mental health in its civilians. Mental illnesses are often looked at as emotional low points within a person that can only be rid of by “toughening up” or “getting over it.” Other cultures and religions view it as a spiritual bout from a divine being whose cure is prayer rather than a medical condition. These dismissals of valid and serious issues can often lead to the degradation of mental health in those who are silenced by them; moreover, they can contribute to the occurrence of generational trauma if those suffering from mental illnesses have the mentalities forced upon them by culture and tradition.

Last, but certainly not least, a general distrust of the healthcare field is a large contributor to the lack of mental illness diagnoses among minority communities. Many communities have experienced discrimination and wrongful treatment from medical professionals throughout history which has caused them to hold reluctance towards getting any sort of medical treatment. Often, minorities are subject to the worst care at hospitals and clinics by white workers because of their race/ethnicity, which is evident by the discrepancies of maternal mortality rates between white and POC mothers and infants. Additionally, infamous experiments conducted upon them without their consent, such as that of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study of the ‘30s that used African American men as lab rats to observe a fatal disease (that they were not given the known cure for) without their knowledge, have further discouraged minorities from putting their trust in medical facilities for physical illnesses let alone psychological ones.

Improvements must be made in the medical workforce in order to cater to the needs of minority patients. Making healthcare more inclusive by hiring and implementing interpreters and a diverse staff so that members of minority communities feel welcomed and understood is crucial if we wish to move forward towards a safer space to seek help for mental health. Our governments must also reflect on why the decades-old practices such as redlining affect today’s civilians and limit their access to healthcare facilities as well as pass law bills that won’t allow the effects of such discrimination to last any longer. Our readers can help do their part as well by having conversations with family about any possible stigmas that they may have surrounding mental illnesses and making efforts to unlearn them.

References:

Mental health disparities: Diverse populations. (n.d.). American Psychiatric Association. Retrieved May 03, 2021 from https://www.psychiatry.org/psychiatrists/cultural-competency/education/mental-health-facts

Morris, R. (2020, July 01). Mental health disparities in minority populations. Brook Lane. https://www.brooklane.org/blog/mental-health-disparities-minority-populations

[Untitled image of hands]. National Alliance on Mental Health. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/July-2016/What-Can-Minority-Mental-Health-Awareness-Month-Do