It’s Okay to Have a Label

Getting a Diagnosis is Not a Bad Thing

Growing up, my family went to the doctor like everyone else. We did regular wellness visits, school physicals, sick visits etc. The one thing we never really knew about or talked about was the wellness of our minds aka mental health. We just believed that so and so was just that way. Or they were just going through a phase. But sometimes it wasn’t a phase. Symptoms of rapid mental health decline were present. And because of our our belief systems, we e did not recognize the signs. For example, when I was depressed in high school, I slept excessively and became extremely withdrawn. I was cutting and begging my mom to let me skip school. I was not my “normal” self. Or like when my sister started talking in word salads and exhibited erratic behavior, we just went a long with it. Even though it was extreme. Sometimes we even laughed about what was going on. We didn’t question if something was mentally happening that was causing a shift. And that could have ended badly.

From a culture perspective, a lot of black families hold onto mistrust of the medical system. And this is rightfully so in America. If you have not heard about the Tuskegee trials, ask Siri or one of them and they can tell you. Anyway many black people are also very spiritual and tell you to pray about things. Or they may believe there is a spirit or demon binding to you. And if you are lucky enough to have immigrant parents from Jamaica like myself, you might get some old school remedies like tea leaves or some…