Her Peace of Mind.
Will a recent NYU study help provide mental health support for young black women in 2024?
A Familiar Melody For Peace
Lauryn Hills ‘I gotta find peace of mind’ from her 2002 unplugged album beautifully captured the essence of an internal desire to find peace in the midst of life’s tribulations. Now I’m not entirely sure of the impact the song had upon it’s release, given that I wouldn’t even be born till a few months later. But If I had to guess I’d assume that it had the same impact then as it continued to over two decades later. As a silently understood healing anthem for black young girls and women everywhere, its familiarity echoes throughout young hearts in our community, where individuals everywhere resonate with the words in various ways, positioning itself as one of few widely recognised artforms of true catharsis for black women. Primarily, many interpret the song as illustrating her personal relationship with God, though others discuss the lyrics as they apply to romantic relationships. But whether people use the song to experience emotions in the way initially intended or not, the song remains as a vehicle to carry black women everywhere through mental, emotional or spiritual periods of transition.
Resolutions!
As we begin a new calendar year, and undergo another transitionary period, there are many of us determined to ‘cleanse, renew, refresh’. Most people discuss new years resolutions and goals when it comes to our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing.
In the context of mental health, I’ve seen so many online discussing ways to increase mental stability and learn more about our own psychologies going into the new year. Where black women are concerned, previous attempts to work on this have been impeded but not through a lack of trying. The acknowledgement in recent years that black women face mental health issues in a very real but very hidden, undercover way has entered discursive spaces in an attempt to uncover the various causes, symptoms and treatments for disorders like depression and anxiety that are said to negatively impact black women at a devastating rate.
“3.9% of Black women report feelings of sadness compared to 2.9% of white women
2.4% of Black women report feelings of hopeless compared to 1.9% of white women
1.8% of Black women report feelings of worthless compared to 1.6% of white women”
- Black Women’s Health Imperative
Admittedly there remains pushback against the topic around mental health issues from older generations. A combination of religious sentiment, and cultural differences enforced upon us by our parents can be suitably blamed for the suppression of our emotional expression. But where it is clear that the conversation surrounding black female depression is becoming increasingly less taboo, specifically amongst the younger generations, we have to examine the other reasons as to why black women aren’t receiving suitable treatment for their problems.
A familiar foe
I’ve spoken on here briefly before about the ways in which racism is interwoven into our healthcare systems when it comes to the diagnosing of physical conditions, given that diseases as they often appear on the white man (our ‘trusty’ model) do nothing when it comes to recognising the same diseases on other demographics, where black women are some of the most severely impacted here.
The same logic can be applied to issues of mental health, where previous attempts made by individuals to get a hold on their mental conditions have been made more difficult by the lack of real progress made in the psychological field of study to examine in particular symptoms of depression as they occur in black women. As others can google online neat tips and tricks for combating mental unwellness, with solutions at least partially helping to solve a problem, black women are left in a sense guideless, stumbling around blind in the dark here.
But I think I have hope for us next year….
The other day I came across a new NYU study, where they noted the ways in which depression appears differently in black women, answering questions we’ve been answering.
‘Why didn’t we catch this?’…
‘Depression May Look Different in Black Women’ (The Study)
Led by researchers at NYU College of Nursing as well as Columbia’s University School of Nursing, results found that Black women with symptoms of depression often reported sleep disturbances, self-criticism, and irritability rather than stereotypical symptoms like depressed mood. So now there is more of an explanation as to why healthcare providers may overlook depression symptoms in Black women, potentially leading to underdiagnosis and undertreatment, according to lead author Nicole Perez, PHD.
Providing us with a bit of insight into the process of medical diagnosis, Nicole highlighted that specifically, depression diagnoses often rely on patient-reported symptoms during evaluations, including low mood, loss of interest, appetite or sleep changes, and feelings of hopelessness. But with this revelation we have to ourselves do some critical thinking and ask a series of important questions.
So now we know that depression diagnoses rely on patient-reported symptoms, but what happens when these symptoms are unrecognisable in the individual, having been so normalised by herself and society around her?
- Can she find peace of mind?
I’d like to place a microscope over a few important symptoms that have been mentioned, most importantly the feelings of internalised blame and hatred.
We know by now that the societal expectations that women face are ever-expanding, even in the face of feminist efforts to make us aware of the fact that we don’t have a responsibility to live up to them. For the black woman, this experience particularly as it pertains to high expectations of emotional security and strength are almost guaranteed to promote higher feelings of blame and hatred. This becomes especially true when we consider the unique gaslighting that black women face when it comes to seeking some accountability from those that oppress them emotionally, whether the bully here is their white neighbour, their black mothers, their partners or their peers. Importantly, another symptom unique to black female depression highlighted by the study discussed irritability, a feature which is made incredibly frustrating when our minds are now reminded of that ever-so-famous stereotype…
And so this is the marked difference. Whilst most people feel that hopelessness and that loss of self when experiencing depression. Black women suffer from self blame and self hatred on top of this, where these emotions help feed regular depressive symptoms like lack of motivation, fatigue and hopelessness.
· Data from 227 Black women in the NYU study revealed that those with greater depressive symptoms were more likely to report somatic symptoms and self-critical symptoms than stereotypical depression symptoms.
About sex… She’s not the problem
But aside from feelings of self-blame and self-hatred, decreased libido was also noted as a symptom of depression in black women.
Nikki Valentine on tik tok, an established healing and energy coach helped supplement my research in this topic, offering a key perspective when it comes to the effects that depression has on black female sexuality.
“I talk to a lot of black women and a lot of black women are disconnected from their sexuality in the way that they feel that they’re not fully able to experience pleasure in the way they should be”
She discusses the ways in which the practice of sexual abstinence within the dynamic of a romantic relationship, stemming from the experience of undiagnosed depression often times leads to unfair stress (blame) placed on her to maintain the sexual chemistry, despite personal challenges she may be facing. Perceived to be indicative of tiredness or more consequentially, a lack of interest; decreased libido can at times ware away at the positive aspects of the romantic relationships black women are involved in. Of course this isn’t to say that any display of an adversity towards sex within a relationship must be diagnosed as some gravely ill problem. But where we are recognising symptoms of depression unique to black women, it is important we don’t overlook this one, given the likelihood that decreased libido is more frustrating for her than it is for her partner, because it is also important that we recognise who we are aiming to assist in these findings.
Towards the end of the study there is an emphasis on the heterogeneity1 of depressive symptoms in Black women where the need for screening tools that consider these variations are highlighted. This is a very necessary adjustment, because typically, standard screening tools in clinical practice may not adequately assess symptoms experienced by Black women, especially those focusing solely on depressed mood without addressing somatic and self-critical symptoms. Leaders on the research team hope that the findings contribute to understanding the diverse manifestations of depression and advocate for more research in historically understudied populations to reduce missed care and health disparities.
I can’t begin to express the joy studies like these bring me. As someone who has experienced the complexities that come with mental health issues, as well as being witness to other black women who have, the element of this unique experience that is the soundless suffering has become almost canon. I see the open access to mental health resources that other communities have admission to and I’m always looking for places where we’re provided the same grace.
As for my own experience, I guess I’m looking at ways to release through my passion for writing. Recently I wrote a poem (that I’ll link below) entitled ‘A friend’, which really provides insight into my own perspective on feelings of loneliness and isolation in a way I find I can best articulate. Despite having written this back in June I’ve only recently decided to start becoming more active with writing poetry in addition to weekly posts on here, so for those interested please do make sure to check out my medium account, linked with the poem.
I plan to write a lot of poetry in 2024, and even if the illustrations provided by my words won’t always allow strangers to peer into my mind, I still think vulnerability is important. Specifically, when it comes to the representation of black female mental suffering, this visibility can only provide more room for us to share and learn, and I think this will be my main motivator here.
(Call it a new years resolution),
Asisa
Links
https://asisakadiri.medium.com/a-friend-1e5e2d5734d9 “A Friend” POEM
Sources
https://www.nyu.edu/about/news-publications/news/2022/december/depression-Black-women.html NYU STUDY
https://psychcentral.com/lib/african-american-women-and-depression#statistics Facts about Black Female Depression
“The quality or state of being diverse in character or content”. Oxford Languages