Mental illnesses are increasingly becoming a health problem in the world. It is an ever-growing pandemic and affects many people in different ways. Mental illnesses do not just affect those ill, but it affects even those close to them such as friends and family. In the previous years, mental health and mental illnesses were thought of to be predominantly a white man’s issue. The issue of race and ethnicity is very evident in all issues surrounding mental health and mental illness. This can be significantly seen in how the awareness is raised and access to the various resources and help required when it comes to mental health. Minority groups suffer discrimination and lack of access to these resources compared to other dominant races. The effect is, however, twice as much for the Black woman. Gender also influences mental illness in how it spreads, how it is managed and presented. The Black woman is the most disadvantaged and discriminated person in the world. She suffers the plight and inequalities that come with being a woman, but it is also compounded upon by the fact that she is a Black woman. According to Okeke (2013), depression, trauma, anxiety, and mood disorders are the most dominant mental illnesses that affect African American women. This is a reflection of the documentary 'Out of Our Mind: Depression Trauma and Black women and how it impacts mental illness in America based on race and gender.
The documentary tries to give African Americans raw accounts of their mental health and mental illness struggles. It tries to bring to light the source of their susceptibility to mental illness and why the rates are so high among African American women. The documentary features different women explaining their journeys with mental illness. There are very many commonalities in the stories and the accounts of these women. It is almost as though one is listening to the same story only told by different women. I think that the documentary has impacted mental illness in America by being a starting point to a difficult conversation that people need to have. The Black woman is in the foundations of the world and holds the strings that keep it together, yet she is the least taken care of the person. People do not want to take into account all the pain and the trauma that she has gone through and continues to go through. I think the documentary shows that regardless of man's evolution and the rise of civilization, the African American woman is still as discriminated as she was centuries before. The documentary impacts the mentally ill because it allows them a platform to speak and be heard. The documentary, in my opinion, is not about assigning blame to any particular person. I think that is more geared to bringing to light what happened and continues to happen to the Black woman and begin the steps towards reconciliation and improving the mental health of Black women all around America.
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The film is impactful because it gives a background of why the African American woman suffers so much from mental illness. The film traces the origin of these numbers back to the days of slavery where the African woman was ripped from what she knew as home and taken into foreign lands with new foods, clothes, religion, and languages. She later suffered through losing children, husbands, and family to war and mistreatment from the oppressors. It requires mental fortitude to withstand a loss, but in such a large amount and the most violent of ways, it is bound to be traumatic. This trauma is then inherited from generation to generation. Based on Okeke (2013), African American women are already born with pain that their mothers, grandmothers, and those who came before them have carried. They come into the world, and the first thing they are taught is to fight. This keeps them constantly anxious about what will happen next, who will be taken away next, how they will stop it from happening. The film is impactful because it shows the kind of pressure that the African American woman is under. The film shows how the woman struggles to find herself. There are so many expectations placed on the Black woman by society and herself which the mind cannot handle and process, leading to mental illness.
The film impacts mental illness because it brings to light the stereotypical labels placed on African American women, becoming self-fulfilling prophecies. The Black woman is portrayed as anything but good, stable, kind, or beautiful. Based on Rosenfield & Mouzon (2013), to fully understand the gender and racial disparities in mental health among women, one must first understand the portrayal of Black women in American society. The way Black women are viewed in America is the biggest contributor to their susceptibility to mental illness. Rosenfield & Mouzon (2013) explain that in America, the Black woman is seen in three different ways the angry Black woman, the strong Black woman, and the video vixen. These views influence how people see and relate to Black women and consequentially how they see themselves and relate with other people. Based on Rosenfield & Mouzon (2013), the strong Black woman is fierce legendary and can withstand anything. This is a common theme in the film where we see that Black women learn from an early age that they need to be strong. Strength, in this case, means no tears, no showing of emotions but pushing through life tactfully and always pushing forward regardless of what you come across. This is harmful to not only their mental health but their physical wealth as well.
Rosenfield & Mouzon (2013) further explain the view of Black women as angry. I believe that back women are not angry; rather, they have generations of pent-up emotions with no one truly wanting to listen to them. The idea that they will be seen as angry when they speak out makes them repress even more emotions. The film, in the beginning, mentions that critics of the documentary claim it as a way of making Black women more victims. I believe that they are already victims of a society that has chosen to cast them aside, and they have endured immeasurable amounts of violence and trauma. Thus such an analysis and view stops them from speaking out and seeking the help that they need. Lastly, the vixen is the oversexualized Black woman. Rosenfield & Mouzon (2013) explain that the sexualization of the Black woman body finds its origins from the time of slavery where the women are no longer seen as people, but they become objects to be gazed at and used for pleasure and entertainment. This furthers the gap in mental health between African American women and white women.
In conclusion, the documentary is a way to open the channels for Black women to seek mental health treatment. It is a way to tell them that they are seen and heard and that there are others who understand what they are going through. I believe that the documentary can serve as a foundation for change in the way mental healthcare is delivered in America. The unique experiences of women of color and minority groups should be incorporated into mental healthcare to ensure that they receive mental care that will meet their needs. I also think that the film was impactful to those struggling with mental illness because it is working towards eliminating the stigma that surrounds mental illness, especially among Black women allowing them to seek help openly. I believe that the film is just the first step and that we should work together to ensure equality is achieved when it comes to delivering justice and mental healthcare.
References
Okeke, A. (2013). A culture of stigma: Black women and mental health.
Rosenfield, S., & Mouzon, D. (2013). Gender and mental health. In Handbook of the sociology of mental health (pp. 277-296). Springer, Dordrecht.
