COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT OUR DEPRESSION

“What do you have to be depressed about?  If our people could make it through slavery, we can make it through anything.”

“When a black woman suffers from a mental disorder, the overwhelming opinion is that she is weak.  And weakness in black women is intolerable.”

“Black women are supposed to be strong – caretakers, nurturers, healers of other people.”

“You should take your troubles to Jesus, not some stranger/psychiatrist.”

 Quotations from Meri Nana-Ama Danquah's memoir, “Willow Weep for Me”

 

HOW WE COPE WITH DEPRESSION       

•       Overeating

•       Doing drugs/alcohol

•       Neglecting our health

•       Participating in indiscriminate/unprotected sex

 

THE REASONS WHY WE DON’T SEEK HELP

Denial

 We feel shame or are embarrassed about being depressed

We refuse to get help or don’t know where to get it

We don’t have the money or insurance to get the help we need

There is a lack of services in our neighborhoods

We often distrust white doctors

Lack of access to African - American therapists