Addressing the stigma around mental health for Black men

FOR ANY TRAPPED CIVILIANS. MIKE, THE STIGMA SURROUNDING MENTAL HEALTH HAS EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS. BUT DISCUSSING PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING CAN STILL BE A TOUGH CONVERSATION TO HAVE, PARTICULARLY FOR BLACK MEN. AND JOINING US TO SHED MORE LIGHT ON THIS TOPIC IS JAMAL MILLER FROM MERCY MEDICAL GROUP. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US AGAIN. GLAD TO BE HERE. THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION TO HAVE HISTORICALLY. WHAT HAS BEEN THE MENTAL HEALTH STIGMA WITHIN THE BLACK COMMUNITY? LET’S START THERE. YEAH, WELL, YOU HAVE NO HEALTH WITHOUT MENTAL HEALTH AND YOU KNOW, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT STIGMA FROM A CULTURAL STANDPOINT, ESPECIALLY FOR MEN, HOW WE OFTEN GREW UP, WHETHER WE’RE A BABY BOOMER OR GEN X OR MILLENNIAL. OFTENTIMES MASCULINITY IS DEFINED IN A CERTAIN WAY AND OFTENTIMES WE DON’T SEE STRENGTH IN VULNERABILITY. I-80 AND BEING VULNERABLE. OFTENTIMES WHEN YOU’RE EXPERIENCING A MENTAL OR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CHALLENGE, IT’S ESSENTIAL TO GET TO A PLACE OF HEALING AND, YOU KNOW, PROFESSIONALLY AND ACADEMICALLY. YOU KNOW, I’VE STUDIED TO BECOME THE HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATOR THAT I AM. BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL PERSONALLY I STARTED TO EXPERIENCE MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ISSUES. AND ONCE IT’S IT’S PERSONAL, YOU UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF OVERCOMING STIGMA AND ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WHEN YOU EXPERIENCE SOMETHING OR IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, ACKNOWLEDGING THAT YOU MAY NOT BE WELL OR SOMETHING IS OFF IS OKAY. AND AND THAT’S WHERE STRENGTH AND VULNERABILITY, SPECIFICALLY IN ARTICLE THAT I JUST WROTE, IS KEY. AND THAT’S INITIALLY HOW I THINK ABOUT IT. YEAH. SO HOW DO YOU SHIFT THE NARRATIVE AND MAKE IT OKAY, ESPECIALLY WITHIN A CULTURE THAT MAYBE HAD STIGMATIZED, USED MENTAL HEALTH AS MAYBE EVEN CHARACTERIZING IT AS AS WEAKNESS, WEAKNESS AND ASKING FOR HELP FOR SURE. IT’S LIKE AN EXERCISE. YOU KNOW, YOU GET, YOU KNOW, STRONGER BY EXERCISING CERTAIN MUSCLES IN YOUR BODY. SO, YOU KNOW, OUR BRAIN IS A VERY REAL ORGAN, YET IT’S VERY IT’S PHYSICAL. A LOT OF TIMES WHEN WE THINK ABOUT OUR MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, IT’S SOMETHING LOFTY OR DISCONNECT ATED. BUT FROM A BIOCHEMICAL STANDPOINT POINT, YOU KNOW, OUR MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH DISPOSITION IS AFFECTED IN ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. YOU KNOW, ONE OF MY EXPERIENCES IS YEARS AGO WAS LEARNING THAT I HAD A VITAMIN D DEFICIENT SEE, AND LEARNING THAT THE SYMPTOMS OF THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE DEPRESSION OR A NUMBER OF OTHER CHALLENGES THAT WE EXPERIENCE IS SO OFTENTIMES IT’S MYSTERIOUS WHEN WE START TO FEEL DIFFERENT AND WE CAN’T REALLY PINPOINT. BUT ONCE YOU PINPOINT EXACTLY WHAT THAT ISSUE IS, WHEN YOU GO TO YOUR PRIMARY CARE DOCTOR OR YOUR THERAPIST AND THEY CAN DIAGNOSE YOU WITH EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING ON, YOU CAN PUT TOGETHER A PLAN TO GET BACK ON TOP, TO FEEL BETTER AND MIND, BODY AND SPIRIT. BUT IT WAS THAT PERSONAL EXPERIENCE THAT HELPED ME UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE THAT IT’S OKAY TO FIND STRENGTH IN VULNERABILITY, BUT YOU JUST GOT TO SAY SOMETHING. SOMETIMES. YEAH. HAVE YOU FOUND THAT REPRESENTATION ALSO WITHIN CULTURES AND COMMUNITIES HAS ALSO PLAYED A PART IN JUST GETTING THAT MESSAGE OUT THERE? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE STUDIES THAT SHOW PARTICULARLY IN MEDICINE, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT PHYSICIANS OR NURSES OR OTHER AREAS OF PRACTICE CLINICALLY, THAT WHEN YOU HAVE BY GENDER, RACE, ETHNICITY, THEY PROVIDER OF CARE THAT LOOKS LIKE YOU WHO PRACTICES MORE CULTURALLY COMPETENT AND CONGRUENT CARE. IT’S POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH BETTER OUTCOMES. YOU OFTEN CAN SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE, SHARE SIMILAR LIVED EXPERIENCES, AND WHEN YOU ESTABLISH THAT BOND OF TRUST, IT POSITIONS A STRONG FOUNDATION UPON WHICH YOU CAN BUILD. SO THAT REPRESENTATION IS KEY. AND CLINICAL SETTINGS, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HEALTH CARE. BUT ALSO THE NON CLINICAL SETTING. YOU KNOW, IN MY CAREER THERE ARE A NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO INSPIRED ME BY WAY OF THEM LOOKING LIKE ME, TAKING TIME AS A YOUTH TO SHARE WITH ME THAT I COULD BE THEM ONE DAY AND SO REPRESENTATION, WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND BELONGING IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. SUCH A VERY IMPORTANT TOPIC TO TO TALK ABOUT AND JUST PUT OUT THERE. HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WHO MIGHT SEE THIS WILL REACH OUT TO WHETHER IT’S YOU OR ANOTHER HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL TO DISCUSS ANYTHING. JAMAL, WE THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS MORNING. WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT. AND A REMINDER THAT WE CAN ALL HELP PREVENT SUICIDE IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW NEEDS HELP, THAT NINE, EIGHT, EIGHT LIFELINE YOU SEE RIGHT THERE PROVIDES 24 OVER SEVEN FREE AN

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