BLANCK MAGAZINE ( THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE) Blanck Lite- THE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE | Page 21

research from the Mental Health Foundation,
so why are we the most reluctant to seek help?
Why is it so difficult for a black man or woman
as strong and resilient and powerful and sexu-
al and magical as we are all supposed to be, to
admit that we feel we are breaking a little in-
side? Why can we not express that we feel lost
or alone or frightened or unsure?
Firstly, the topic is still a taboo and seen by
many in the community as an issue surround-
ed by fear and embarrassment despite how
common it is. Some black folk are reluctant
to engage with services due to a lack of trust
in the system and an understanding, whether
real or imagined, that the services available are
not designed for us and cannot accommodate
our specific cultural needs. How can any white
counsellor or psychotherapist or GP – or even
a black one who has been trained in a system
which is institutionally racist – really under-
stand or benefit us is a question often posed.
How can they understand how it feels as a
man to know that at any moment, depending
of course on how you speak and how you’re
dressed, that you can be mobbed by a group of
uniformed white men and publicly harassed,
groped and humiliated because you look sus-
picious? How can they understand the anxiety
felt by the hijab on the train platform who has
seen video after video of other veiled ladies be-
ing dragged through the streets or pushed onto
railway tracks because they choose to cover
their bodies?
Secondly, people may not even realise they’re in
need of any help. Physical health is a spectrum.
Depending on who one is speaking to poor
physical health could refer to anything from poor
fitness or a common cold or infection to compli-
cations of terminal illnesses and fatal diseases.
It’s the same with mental health too. There are
extreme cases and milder cases and just as most
people are not at their full potential of physical
well-being I don’t believe as many people are at
the full potential of their mental well-being as
we’d like to think. Dr Victoria Showunmi, UCL
Institute of Education lecturer says, “I don’t talk
to people who say they have mental health is-
sues. I talk to black women in particular and, af-
ter speaking to them in a discussion group, say,
they will then acknowledge the fact they have
been suffering from issues related to bad mental
health.”  The main reason for this, she suggests,
is “the need to be strong, resilient, [and] fear of
being called an angry black woman.
Looking at black women, it’s interesting to look
at the extent to which this desire to be strong and
resilient is, in fact, weakening us and chipping
away at our core. When asked if black women
face an increased risk in terms of experienc-
ing poor mental health , Marcel Vige, head of
equality improvement at Mind said, “The simple
answer is “yes.” We have many of the same con-
cerns that trigger our paler skinned peers how-
ever, according to the NHS black British women
are more prone to experience common mental
disorders such as anxiety, depression, panic, and
obsessive-compulsive disorders. How can they
understand the impact of one’s self esteem ex-
isting in a world where it is growing increasingly
important to be beautiful, to look attractive, to
be other people’s #goals, yet you are flooded with
Little did I know of the duplicity he navigated
through daily and the pain which coloured in
the voids between the lines when no one was
around.
21 / BLANCKLITE / OCT 2018 / www.blanckdigital.com