(Image via recovered.org)

Volunteer Writer: Naseim Harrison

Email: nharrison1@umassd.edu 

In today’s world, being a black man is hard enough, with pressures from the ever-changing societal norms, stigmas, and stereotypes to the personal expectations of family and friends. It can be hard to maintain, meet, and exceed what you are asked. 

Mental health is not discussed as much among men as it should be. We were all raised with the idea that to be a man, you must be tough and a provider.

As a black man, I believe that mental health is something that should be emphasized more and pushed in black households. I believe it is neglected and, if focused on more, could impact a lot of black lives. My friends and I often have the same stories. We were told to be tough, not to cry, and always heard, “Let it go. It will be okay.” 

Suicide rates surged during the Covid-19 pandemic. Among those suicides, there were higher than expected deaths among males, preteens aged 5–12 years, young adults aged 18–24 years, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native youth, and non-Hispanic Black youth as compared to before the pandemic (NIMH). 

The National Institute of Mental Health reported that as of 2018, suicide became the second leading cause of death in black children aged 10-14 and the third leading cause of death in Black adolescents aged 15-19. They also found that black children were more likely to die by suicide than their white peers. 

Joshua Gordon (NIMH) believes that a factor that may be contributing to increases in the risk of suicide in black youth may be disparities in access to mental health services. He says, 

Black youth continue to be less likely to receive mental health treatment for depression when needed compared to white youth.

Rates of engagement in and completion of treatments for depression are lower for black adolescents, often due to negative perceptions of services and providers and reluctance to acknowledge symptoms. 

Many black men do not know it’s okay not to be okay. A podcast called Express Yourself Black Man talks about what it’s like growing up black. They provide a sense of therapy and resources that help guide you whether you’re angry, upset, or depressed. 

Kizzle is the creator of Express Yourself Black Man and a daily blog called Black Man’s Safe Haven. Black Man’s Safe Haven is a place that sheds light on depression, mental health, and the reasons why black men don’t speak up. 

On the Black Man’s Safe Haven blog, services include therapy with licensed black professionals, free webinars to connect you to a black therapist, and daily advice to guide you through your struggles. 

Black Man’s Safe Haven says that a black boy grows into a black man who wholeheartedly believes that his strength derives from his lack of weakness or need for help from others. He believes his strength derives from his ability to take it on the chin and keep pushing. He believes his strength derives from his ability to endure, and an inability to endure makes him weak.

Black boys and girls deserve to know that it is okay not to be okay and that there are avenues to success.  More work must be done, especially in lower-income communities and youth centers.  Clinics held by the National Institute of Mental Health could provoke a high outreach and be effective. 

Black men and boys deserve love and know there is help.