Again, World Mental Health Day It is upon us. Unfortunately, our world is still an unequal world – and this inequality is clearly demonstrated in Psychological healthboth in matters of race, gender and diagnosis.
for beginners, black five times It is more likely to be cut from white people. Women three times more To develop a common mental health disorder than their male counterparts.
There is bias even among mental health charities. Chris Kappa is an unarmed black man She was killed by the Metropolitan Police in Septemberand this is currently going on Investigation by IOPC. Psychological friendship for the mind Posted different tweets around it. They highlight what many of the people I’ve spoken to touch on regarding the utter frustration the black community felt during a time when news coverage was focused solely on the Queen’s death – when this incident needed our attention.
I was proud of Mind, because they did what I felt many mental health organizations missed. They publicly validated black people’s experiences with Four Words on Twitter, a platform with more than half a million followers: “Racial trauma is real.” But a day later, they backed out.
Apologies for their tweet He responded to individual tweets of angry people. I’ll bet money on it and say that angry people have one thing in common – an interesting friendship with the quote: “All lives matter.” I expect those comments from what I refer to as “online gangsters”, but due to the original tweet from Mind, I was disappointed. I felt frustrated as someone who regularly brings people to mind. The pressure didn’t make the minds desperate, it just made them collapse. I’m not sure to put people’s cues in mind anymore.
It is also worth noting that Blacks are overrepresented In inpatient facilities, but they are not likely to receive support until they have gone through a crisis. I am never surprised. I can’t even pretend to be lukewarm shocked. Imagine begging for help, finding yourself drifting in and out of A&E crisis hotlines, and the only cure being higher and higher doses of the mind-numbing antipsychotic medication. This is my experience, as a black woman living with her borderline personality disorder (BPD).
I waited on a list for three years while I was on psychedelic drugs. It got to the point where I couldn’t decide on my favorite color anymore, let alone any hobbies I enjoyed. I felt a constant zombie state, and after taking the medication, I was able to sleep for 14 hours straight.
I often feel there is a threshold for acceptable mental health states. Let me take you a little deeper and walk you to the good side of the mental health neighborhood. This isn’t an Olympics of struggle, but we need to have a transparent conversation about why there are “acceptable disorders” like depression and anxiety, and why there is more stigma and shame, like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and borderline personality disorder.
People with borderline personality disorder are 50 times more likely of the average person who attempted suicide. Yes, for every 10 people with BPD, one dies by suicide. And that doesn’t even take into account attempts to end our lives. These are not just my words, this is my personal! It’s life or death, which feels even more painful when you add racial inequality to the mix. I want my life and the lives of others with BPD to be more than just a number, but I can’t help but think of the people I’ve been treating with. Sometimes 10 is that magic number in the group, and I panic.
While on the NHS waiting list for dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), I had a general psychology appointment every three months – this was before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. They did six month courses and the first of the two was appointments always sore, As I had to completely reframe my medical history to professionals who never seemed to read my notes beforehand. By the end of each course, news came out that my referrals were misplaced.
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what can I do? I did what I needed to get help and wished I could get proper help before my attempts at needing a “long break” became irreversible. When I speak to others, they tell strikingly similar accounts.
independent Reported back in 2018 that “nine out of 10 NHS commissioning groups (CCGs) did not report any waiting times for speech therapies in severe mental illness”. A close friend of mine has been told to join an online group therapy and will not be put on the DBT referral list until she completes the sessions.
She is afraid to go and her mental state continues to deteriorate, but in fact she is being cut off from treatment unless she complies. When I don’t hear from her in a couple of days, I fear the worst, and it’s not so annoying when you know the suicide statistics of BPD patients.
I want this to change. I want to eliminate racial inequality in mental health. In the grand scheme of things, I’m not special. I am black, female and live with a serious mental disorder. It feels absolutely surreal to know that I live in an uneven world with terrifying mental health stats that deeply affect the lives and life chances of people like me.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress and isolation, or you are struggling to cope, Samaritans offer support; You can talk to someone for free over the phone and, with confidence, at 116123 (UK & ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are a resident of the USA, and you or someone you know is currently in need of mental health assistance, call the National Suicide Prevention Helpline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). The Helpline is a free and confidential crisis hotline available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org To find a helpline near you
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