Activists try to fight stigma of mental illness in the Black community

From The District Chronicles at Howard University:

In 1994 Yvonne Smith (pictured) was on top of her game. She had a promotion from sales associate to representative in the information systems department at a Fortune 500 company. And although she was already seeing a psychiatrist and taking medication for anxiety, her life was seemingly under control.

Then disaster struck. She was 39. The department in which Smith worked closed - casualty of company downsizing. Rumors swirled around her that racism was driving reassignment of employees to other departments.

"I tried to kill myself," Yvonne said. "The combination of workload and acute paranoia of racism was too much to bear."

That Fourth of July weekend, Yvonne emptied her entire bottle of medication into her mouth and washed it down with a beer. She sank into a long coma. When she woke up, she got even more depressed.

"I was actually angry at myself for failing to end my life," she said.

That is when Smith knew she needed serious help. Instead of 911, she phoned her job's employee assistance program. They referred her to Georgetown University Hospital where she was placed on suicide watch. She spent 19 days in the psychiatric ward.

Smith believes lack of proper treatment for her anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) caused her breakdown. She suspected her breakdown was related to disparity of treatment between Blacks and Whites.

That near-death incident turned Smith into a ferocious advocate for marginalized minorities afflicted with mental illness. Smith now receives Social Security benefits and spends her days working with advocacy groups to inform and empower those suffering from mental illness.

Smith was nearly 40 before she was informed of her diagnosis. And that was after a four-month partial hospitalization.

Because of the stigma attached to mental illness in the Black community, Smith didn't even feel she could tell her mother about her hospital stay. "I told her I was going to a bed and breakfast," she said.

To bring awareness to the crisis of mental health in the minority community, Congress last year passed a resolution (H.Con.Res. 134) establishing July as Bebe Moore Campbell Minority Mental Health Month. It was a fitting honor for the late, African-American novelist for her work in de-stigmatizing mental illness in Black and other minority communities.

The Centers for Disease Control reports that Blacks are four times more likely to experience mental illness, such as schizophrenia, than Whites. However, they are less likely to seek treatment.

Dr. William Lawson, director of psychiatry at Howard University Hospital, and president of Washington's Psychiatric Society, is well aware of the problem. He has partnered with the National Institutes for Mental Health to restructure and expand mental health research and education in minority communities.

"The Black community has a negative feeling about mental health and mental health treatment," she told The District Chronicles.

He has also incorporated the Black church in his attack on the crisis.

Culturally, the Black community relies heavily if on their religious beliefs and institutions for guidance and support. "We support the ministry. If you break your leg you pray to heal it, but you go to the emergency room as well," Dr. Lawson said.

With support from a $6.5 million grant, Dr. Lawson holds workshops and gives speeches at local Black churches.

Also working on the crisis is Dr. Michael Torres of the Center for Integration of Spirituality and Mental Health, Inc. The center's mission is to promote a model of mental health that incorporates spirituality into treatment.

The center works with local churches and spiritual leaders to promote mental health through their "Biopsychospiritual Model" which states that an individual is comprised of three components: mind, body and spirit.

One of their affiliates, New Hope Baptist Church in Baltimore, MD, welcomes the services the center provides.

"The church is a pivotal institution to meet the needs of the people," said Julian Fuller, a long-time member of the church. "If mental health happens to be on one of those needs, then the church ought to try and address that."