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EGACY Yesterday. Today. Tomorrow.
WEDNESDAYS • July 5, 2017
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A father on losing his son to opioids - 2 Pawnbrokers reach fraud settlement - 5 Several racial healing events planned - 9 New advances in prostate research - 15
Richmond & Hampton Roads
LEGACYNEWSPAPER.COM • FREE
Somethings making it easier for blacks to talk about depression
WIRE - According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, African-Americans are 10 percent more likely than non-Hispanic whites to report some form of psychological distress. So contrary to the old folks’ adage, black people living with depression aren’t doing so because they’ve been afforded the luxury of having “white people problems.” Thankfully, a number of creative blacks with mental illnesses are addressing the stigma that surrounds it. They speak about using social media to share their experiences which include depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia through digital art, community meet-ups and storytelling. They’re hoping their forthrightness about their own struggles with mental health will help others to cope. Given the looming threat of TrumpCare, which would classify mental illness as a pre-existing condition and raise rates, such a mission is vital. Artist and art teacher Kirsty Latoya is spreading mental health awareness via digital art. The 25-year-old, who’d been creating artwork depicting her struggles with mental health for some time, went public with her work last March after her mom passed away. Latoya, who is Caribbean, said skepticisms surrounding mental illness in her culture initially prevented her from acknowledging her depression. “The views on mental health in my community are different,” Latoya said in an email to HuffPost. “Sometimes in Caribbean culture, it’s not regarded as an actual illness. You’re brought up to be strong and some parents show no weakness so you aim to replicate that. This deterred me from accessing the level of support I needed when I was younger.” The reluctance to acknowledge mental health in some black communities is a subject Dr. Candice Nicole, who counsels black millennials, said is regularly bought up by her patients. “People do not believe them. It is unfortunate, but black pain and suffering is often minimized or ignored,” she said. “In fact, I have known of black clients being told that they ‘don’t look sick’ or that they need to toughen up by people who are not competent therapists.” Read the conclusion at legacynewspaper.com
Art teacher Kirsty Latoya is spreading mental health awareness via digital art.