Here’s What Silence On Depression and Suicide is Doing to Black Communities

April 22, 2016 / The Root

(Content Warning: suicide, mental health stigma)

“I don’t have time to break down.”

Can you relate to these stories of dealing with depression and suicide? In this video from The Root, several people talk about the impact of mental health stigma in black communities – and how it’s getting in the way of much-needed support.

This really reveals why these conversations are so important, and why we need to make space to have them in our communities. And these insights also offer hope, with some great suggestions on how we can help support each other and reach out if we’re in need of support.

If you’re having mental health struggles, you’re not alone. We hope this video helps remind you of that.

With Love,
The Editors at Everyday Feminism

Click for the Transcript

Speaker 1: I deal with depression. It’s kind of one of those things that’s a don’t ask don’t tell sort of a policy.

Speaker 2: Tears are okay. We have to have this space to be like, “I am not okay, and this is why.”

Speaker 3: That’s actually a little hard to talk about. I actually suffer from mental illness. I think mental illness is something that we kind of put off as a white thing.

Speaker 4: Pray it out, or turn it over to God. I have people act like I have insulted them, their mother, and their whole line, because I suggested therapy. It’s too heavy for someone to carry. I remember being in therapy and saying to a therapist, “Listen, I don’t have time to break down.”

Speaker 5: I wish more people felt comfortable talking about their issues, because truth be told everybody has an issue, myself included. I wish there were more safe spaces to do so.

Speaker 6: I’ve never felt that I couldn’t show my emotions, it was who I could show them to. We need to not look at depression, or mental health, as being some type of mystic voodoo that is a myth.

Speaker 3: I actually lost a friend to suicide, and that was something really unexpected. This wasn’t somebody that we thought fit the script.

Speaker 7: We need to talk about the solutions. I mean I’m a big advocate for therapy.

Speaker 8: I wish I could go, because I’d be there right now.

Speaker 2: It’s the most consistent relationship I personally have.

Speaker 9: One of my ex boyfriends, he committed suicide. Talk about it, don’t keep it pent up.

Speaker 7: For me, if it wasn’t for friends, I definitely wouldn’t be here.

Speaker 8: I look well put together, but on the inside, I’m falling apart. Always have your game face on, you always have to go outside and conquer the world, regardless of what’s going on.

Speaker 10: I hate that we don’t have a feeling of safety enough, and bravery, to be able to go to each other. Your test can be the testimony for someone else. Even the strength we can have to share what has happened to us, can be the thing that is the white flag that saves somebody else.

Speaker 3: I’m realizing that maybe there’s a lot more to it than just needing prayer. It is something that there are resources, and people out there, that can and are willing to help.

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