How long does it take to text a friend or call a family member? We face so many struggles in our daily lives as college students. Now there are so many triggers such as body image, finances, life after college, or even a traumatic event. All of which can lead or assist in depression and anxiety. We don’t believe that mental health is a serious condition and that some people need more catering to than others. Mental health is looked at as a negative stigma in most communities but is mostly unwelcomed in the black community. How can we change that? Our friends, brothers, sisters, moms, and dads all suffer from mental health. Some people don’t speak up, it can be difficult. It only takes one person to make a difference, one person to raise awareness.
Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by the constant loss of interests and a sad mood. Depression can lead to an impairment in someone’s daily life. Along with anxiety, anxiety is an intense and constant worry/fear of everyday situations. I had the opportunity to sit and talk to Dr. Lisa Weinberg a psychologist for “Counseling And Psychological Services” at Montclair State University. I feel that understanding how depression and anxiety starts and knowing the proper treatment can help. Depression contains sad and down moods, poor sleep, appetite change, and a decrease in motivation. Dr.Weinberg stated that depression can be caused by a specific incident or event that could have occurred in someone’s life, or an unresolved or unprocessed issue as well. We don’t take the time to think about what we say to someone. We have no idea what that person could be going through. We could be adding more pain to their situation.
Kevin Johnson, a dear friend of mine has been surviving with depression for a year now. When talking to him, he told me about his struggles, triggers, and fears of being with depression. “I kept to myself and was in a continuous upset mood,” Johnson stated. He continued to discuss what triggered his depression. Johnson’s uncle became very ill and it was up to him to carry on multiple responsibilities including helping his sick family member. “ Several things I believed caused my depression, but what did it was taking care of my uncle and adding on more responsibility that was given to me,” Johnson stated.
Excessive stress and an obstacle that needs to be tackled is what Dr. Weinberg described as causes for anxiety. I remember being called upon in class, not knowing the answer with the thought of failing the class in my head, along with thinking about failing all my other classes. I started to think about what was all of my money being spent on if I’m going to fail a class. My heart started to pound, and my mind began to race. I felt at that moment I could not breathe. I then left class and returned to my dorm. I wanted silence so I locked myself into the dark bathroom of my dorm room and started to cry. That was my first time having an anxiety attack and yet I did not tell anyone until a year later. Why was I so afraid to speak up?
“In a lot of communities there is a stigma, people feel it’s a personal failure,” said Dr. Weinberg. I wanted to understand why wasn’t mental health being taken seriously. It’s simple, there is a negative stigma surrounding the black community about mental health. Reading “Challenging Mental Health Stigma in the Black Community” by Hafeez Baoku, I understood the difficulties of growing up and being told to “stop crying like a girl” when in fact I am a female. I grew up in a community where women and men are not supposed to cry or discuss being stressed, you keep that to yourself. Nobody is supposed to know your personal business is what my grandmother used to say. Besides me and a few other friends, Johnson did not tell his family members, “No I can’t bring myself to talk to my dad, my problems are my problems. It’s not hurting me physically.” Johnson said. Not sharing our problems and holding back our tears is only making matters worse. It shows that it isn’t okay for us to hurt.
Within my research, I read “African American Communities and Mental Health” it makes sense, most black communities prefer you reach out spiritually instead of visiting a doctor, by not speaking up black Americans are ranked as 63% who believe that depression is a personal weakness. The black community lacks information and are misunderstood, even by assuming that mental illness is something personal, or to assume someone has “the blues” is shutting that minority out.
“What scares me is actually trying to hurt myself, I would have aggressive episodes like punching the walls. At one point I put a knife to my wrist but then I just couldn’t do it. I was afraid I would hurt myself.” said Kevin Johnson. Dr.Weinberg said “even though more women come to treatment for mental health issues, more men die by suicide. We want to prevent any kind of harm. If we can help a friend or family member wouldn’t we? The proper treatment for mental health would be individual therapy over some time, or starting off in crisis. Kevin Johnson suggested “Hanging with well-minded people, talking about your issues amongst friends. Maintaining an active mind, I keep myself focused on other things. It helps to have people that can understand, that will take you out of the problems, not people who will drag out the problem.” It takes one phone call, one text message to help save a life and to help save a friend. It takes one person to raise awareness.
If you or someone you know are struggling with mental health issues below is a list of resources you can connect to and receive the proper treatment. Be the one person to save a life, be the one person to raise awareness.
Resources:
Counseling And Psychological Services at Montclair State University:
Here you can follow the 3 easy steps to make an appointment and contact CAPS as a student at Montclair State University
https://www.montclair.edu/counseling-and-psychological-services/make-an-appointment/
Let’s Talk at Montclair State University:
Let’s Talk is a program that provides easy access to informal, confidential one-on-one consultations with CAPS counselors. Walk-in hours will be held five days a week at eight different sites on campus during the regular semester. Let’s Talk is offered during the summer, but only on Wednesdays.
https://www.montclair.edu/counseling-and-psychological-services/services/lets-talk/
TAO:
TAO online services are provided to you as a student or employee of Montclair State University for free. You can also sign up as well if you don’t attend Montclair State University.
https://thepath.taoconnect.org/local/login/home.php
Just in Case App:
The “Just in Case” app is a free easy downloadable app that provides support for college students dealing with a mental crisis that may have thoughts of suicide. It has 3 areas of concern and includes multiple resource links.