The Stigma

    What is stigma? Stigma is a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person. This is a huge part of mental health and is a what goes through peoples minds when they don't want to speak up about how they are feeling. 

     I want to touch on the negative impact the stigma of mental health has on people. Being a black woman I've seen how the Black community acts towards mental health issues. Especially when it comes to black men, they are often told they are being too soft or what they are saying isn't that deep. This is common amongst most men regardless of color or race, they don't want to appear weak. It can be very lonely when you have no one to talk to about how you feel because you don't want to appear "soft".

    This then leads to self isolation, which will then affect that individuals future relationships. When a person never talks to anyone about how they are feeling, it starts to come out in other ways. This can lead to infidelity in relationships and just an overall feeling that that person just won't open up. 

    Thats why it's so important for everyone to make others feel comfortable enough to get help. I think we as people need to normalize therapy. Everyone could benefit from it even if it's just one session or a couple months at a time. Being able to get an unbiased opinion or just to have someone hear you out can save a life. 

    In order for the stigma around mental health to start to lift we need to start educating people. Spreading awareness even more about therapy and how it's okay to talk to someone. Also teaching to our kids boys and girls thats it's okay to express how they are feeling. 

    In my next blog I'm going to talk a little about being my experiences as student athlete and what I've seen in regards to mental health. Mental health is a huge topic right now for student athletes. There is a lot we go through on a daily as college students alone and with athletics that adds a whole other aspect...

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Put yourself first

 Self care is a major part of maintaining good healthy habits. Not only is self care a major part of having good healthy habits but also good mental health habits to be more specific. I feel like people have to work so so much just to get to a place where they feel somewhat ok. This leaves little to no room for things that are good for the mental because you enjoy doing them.  Self care is an important aspect in maintaining a positive headspace. Knowing when is probably the most important key to this. Having the self awareness to know when you're burnt out or need a break is really key. Thats why it's also good to have little check ins with yourself. Asking yourself questions like, "when is the last time I did something just because I enjoy it" or "How can I benefit more in the future from taking time to myself now". Taking time for yourself and doing something you really enjoy can mean a bunch of different things for different people. That can even include ...
Read more

Post Graduation Depression

 Im going to switch it up a little for this weeks blog and tell a little story about one of my best friends. The topic for the story today is Post Gradation Depression. I feel this is such an important topic because of the time most of us are in life right now, which is about to graduate this year or next year. Post-graduation depression is described as  depressive symptoms that occur after a person finishes college or university . Although it is not a medically recognized term, it is an experience many young adults may relate to. After many years of education, people may find adjusting to life after university challenging. So my friend after college had a job set up in Indianapolis and she was coming from Washington D.C. where she went to  college at Howard University. So already going from DC to Indianapolis was going to be a huge culture shock. Coming from  a Historically Black College/University was going to be different to living in Carmel Indiana outside o...
Read more

My why

Mental Health is something that affects everyone at some point in their life. Whether it's your own mental health or someone else's, it's important to understand the signs and symptoms of someone that might need help. Things like change in appetite, insomnia, withdrawal, and relying on alcohol or sedatives are the most common signs i've seen most as a college student amongst my peers. It's so important to check on the people closest to you because you never truly know what someone is struggling with internally.  This brings me to social media, which is a huge part of our daily lives. Mental health is talked about more because of social media yes, but is Social Media really helping? I always hear my peers talk about deleting their social media apps because they need the mental break. I was in class this past week and a student mentioned how when they use social media they "always" see a decline in their mental health. Which I've heard not only from that...
Read more