News

The National Alliance on Mental Illness says LGBTQ youth are almost three times more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Des Bansile almost became one of those statistics.

“A youth who is struggling with their identity when they come out — they have to face if their parents are going to accept them or their friends, who they’ve known forever, are going to accept them,” Bansile said.

“The steps I took to try and hide who I was led me down a really dark path while I was in college, and I became depressed and suicidal,” she said.

Suicide is the leading cause of death for LGBTQ individuals between 10 and 24 years old, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Psychologist Dr. Daniel Munoz specializes in treating LGBTQ kids.

“Suicide rates are highest among all different subgroups among LGBTQ teens,” Munoz says. “We also have one of the highest rates of homelessness, one of the highest rates of being abandoned by their family.” And Munoz says every family can make a difference early in their kids’ lives.

“Have a family value where we accept people for who they are,” he said. “So, from the time the child can walk and talk, promote those values of acceptance.”

It could be the difference between life and death.

The numbers are staggering when you look at who’s at a high risk of depression. One in three gay and lesbian individuals have experienced depression. That’s more than double the rate of peopled who identify as straight.

If you need help with whatever you’re going through, you can find people to help you at 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255.

You can also text “home” to 741-741 to get connected with professionals near you.

Read more on KATU.com.

Clinical mistrust and skepticism of mental health are recurring themes among South Asians, and to some degree, it is understandable. Big pharma and the frustrations of the American healthcare system often alienate individuals from seeking treatment for mental illnesses. Additionally, the medical model does not work for everyone.

Sometimes, what an individual needs during low points of their mental health is support from their community. Unfortunately, for too many South Asians for which this was not the case. In order to combat the intergenerational stigma of mental health among the South Asian community, a community-level understanding that mental health is health is needed.

A clinical model that addresses cultural barriers toward seeking care is vital. For example, immigrants that speak different languages may require translators. This in turn can increase clinical distrust between an individual and their therapist. There are over 200,000 South Asians living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Yet rarely have counselors that look like them and understand the cultural values.

We need to elevate culturally-sensitive resources and create spaces dedicated toward South Asian populations in the United States. This includes recognizing the impact of identity on mental health outcomes; an example of this is the LGBTQ community. South Asian LGBTQ-identifying individuals are at a statistically higher risk of suicide not just due to their sexuality, but also because of stigma attached to mental health in our community.

Change needs to happen via dialogue, so it’s time to start. Talk with your families regarding mental illness. Support their decisions regarding their mental health. As a community, come together to help de-stigmatize mental health.

Read more at TheAerogram.com.

The Native American population living on reservations has the highest overdose death rate among all minorities.

The Washington Post is reporting that among the demographic groups that have endured the most severe impact by the opioid crisis, Native Americans have suffered some of the highest death rates, yet have rarely been included in the national conversation about the epidemic.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that while death rates among white Americans in rural areas rose by more than 325% in 2015, the Native American population living on reservations suffered an increase of more than 500% during the same time frame—the highest among all minority groups.

The situation is not a new occurrence; the CDC reported that in 2014, 8.4 per 100,000 Native Americans were dying of opioid overdoses, the highest number of any racial demographic. As CBS News noted, the National Institute on Drug Abuse found that Native American students used heroin and OxyContin two to three times more than the national average between 2009 and 2012. 

Native American leaders have made efforts to take matters directly to the U.S. government—tribal leaders from New Mexico met with representatives from the Department of Justice (DOJ) under President Barack Obama to discuss the state’s skyrocketing drug overdose rate in 2016, and a series of listening sessions between tribal leaders and the DOJ in May and June of 2017 led to the announcement of new strategies to expand assistance to Native American tribes in regard to opioid dependency, among other public health and legal issues.

However, as critics have noted, the Public Health Emergency fund has just $57,000 in available funds—a number that appears too low to provide any significant assistance to any demographic.

Read more at TheFix.com.

The Behavioral Health Barometer, Volume 5, is one of a series of national, regional, and state reports that provide a snapshot of behavioral health in the United States. The reports present a set of substance use and mental health indicators as measured through the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS), sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

View the recently released Behavioral Health Barometer on NNEDshare.

The thought of going to therapy used to give Jameelah Nasheed  anxiety. While to many people going to therapy may seem like the obvious solution to feelings of overwhelming stress, sadness, and anxiousness, for Nasheed—a Black woman—it hasn’t always felt like a clear and reasonable option. Nasheed had never known another woman who looked like her who had gone to therapy. So she grew up thinking therapy was a “white thing” or a “rich thing” because all the women around her just dealt with their problems—or so it seemed.

According to the Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, African Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems than the general population. Despite this being the case, according to the National Alliance of Mental Illness, only about one-quarter of African Americans seek mental health care, compared to 40% of whites. This is due to the negative stigma surrounding mental health, lack of access, and a general distrust of the medical field among Black people (for valid reasons). Thankfully, the increased visibility of Black women seeking treatment and the creation of tools made with Black women in mind (such as the Therapy for Black Girls directory), conversations about mental health care are being had in spaces and by people who didn’t have them in previous years.

Still, there’s room for improvement. Nasheed spoke with mental health professionals—also Black women—about common misconceptions regarding mental health care. From letting go of the Superwoman Schema (yes, that’s a real thing), to finding the right therapist and sticking with it, they told me what they wish they could tell all Black women about mental health.

“What I tell Black women about mental health is that it is okay for you to be honest about your pain and where it comes from. You do not have to explain it away, and it is possible to have both inner strength AND vulnerability at the same time. Learning how to connect with yourself, what you truly feel AND need is the best path to healing, because then not only can you ask for help, but also know how to truly take care of you.” — Shena Tubbs, founder of Black Girls Heal.

“I often tell black women that mental health is an investment you’re making for your soul. Remember: mental health does not mean mental illness, and seeing a therapist can help to minimize stressors in your life. As Black women, we have to recognize that we can take off the superwoman cape and be vulnerable, ask for help, and express our stressors to others. Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.” — Marline Francois, owner of Hearts Empowerment Counseling Center.

Read more on HelloGiggles.com.

As the largest ethnic minority group in the United States, numbering nearly 58 million, Latinxs are the principal driver of demographic growth, accounting for half of the national population growth since 2000. The U.S. Latinx population continues to not only grow but diversify.  While Mexicans remain the largest U.S. Latinx immigrant group, shifts in immigration patterns over the past decade indicate steep increases in Latinx immigrants of Caribbean and Central and South American origin arriving in the U.S.

Health disparities (e.g., alcohol liver disease, HIV/AIDS, obesity, and mental health) impact Latinxs in the U.S. These disparities are influenced by sociodemographic, behavioral, social, and societal factors including language and cultural barriers, lack of access to health care, and structural discrimination. To tackle these issues, researchers must first identify the mechanisms influencing health disparities and explore multilevel interventions to address them. There also remains a salient need to increase the number of Latinxs and other ethnic/racial minority investigators pursuing careers in biomedical and behavioral research.

The Center for Research on U.S. Latino HIV/AIDS and Drug Abuse (CRUSADA) at Florida International University (FIU) is at the forefront of these efforts with an overarching goal to prevent and eliminate health disparities affecting Latino communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida. This work centers around conducting community-based research and establishing community engagement strategies and partnerships to build a long-term, sustainable presence in vulnerable and marginalized Latinx communities, including immigrants and farmworkers. CRUSADA has also funded and trained nearly 60 health disparity professionals at the faculty, postdoctoral, and predoctoral levels. Most recently, CRUSADA is home to FIU’s Health Disparities Initiative, funded through an endowment by National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD).

Read and learn more on NIMHD.com.