Honoring Minority Mental Health Month

Makeena Rivers

Jul 12, 20212 min read

The Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month was established in 2008 to enhance public awareness of mental illness among minorities.

Introduction to the Mini Blog Post Series

These days it seems more and more of us are catching onto the profound importance of taking care of our mental health. With the power of mental health practitioners and self-educated advocates behind us, there is a rich conversation happening all around us across diverse platforms.

Whether it be social media, podcasts, or some other media form, the conversation about mental health and wellness is unfolding. One huge part of increasing awareness in this realm is identifying patterns in behaviors, emotions, and thoughts. As researchers have done this work, it has become clear that certain tendencies co-exist. In contributing to this conversation, the following few blog posts each introduce one of a list of many terms that describes just a few of the ways society’s oppression and inequality can cause challenges for many Black and brown women. Each of the patterns of behavior represent a response to racism, the dehumanizing effects of capitalism, sexism, and the general functioning of our wider culture today.

As you read this mini series of blog posts and better understand the following terms you might recognize that more than one of these patterns resonates. This may be saddening, or even angering, but your recognition of this is also a step towards progress. Acknowledging a pattern is a very critical step in the process of growth, healing, and eventually rejecting the toxic ideas society has imposed upon us.

While each of the following describes a response to a reality we all have to navigate, through awareness and effort we have the ability to pivot away and take care of ourselves in a way that best serves our needs. With this truth in mind, each description is also paired with a practice you can use when you notice this tendency emerging.

-Makeena Rivers

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