As a young white male, I feel I have at least some grasp on how mental health and mental illness is seen among white communities. There is a general acceptance of the importance of mental wellbeing, yet there remains a reluctance to openly discuss mental illness or conditions.
Over the years and through many discussions with members of black communities, I am under the impression that mental wellbeing is treated differently. Some people have told me it's not taken as seriously as white communities, while some others have gone as far as to tell me it's a 'white' problem.
My question is for black community members: how does your community perceive mental wellbeing and mental disorders?
Ivan
I can kick this off... Definitely a taboo.. We always see it as a "White" problem and this of course clashes with our "Just get on with it" way of thinking. This IMO has resulted in many toxic generation behaviors in black culture with very negative outcomes. We think we must always be strong so that we are not appearing weak to anyone else. This is mentally crippling because lots of time we are not able to exhale and process what we are dealing with and this results in poorer mental health - to answer your question we see it as weak and something we can brush under the table when that is far from right!