This disease comes with a package - shame. When any other part of your body gets sick, you get sympathy. ~ Ruby Wax
We often live our lives according to the dictations of society. According to society, publicly speaking about your personal issues is taboo, and it labels a person who speaks of their rough patches as an attention seeker. It also sadly warns us to stay away from people who are undergoing 'dark times'. As a result, persons encountering difficult times or are conflicted, sit quietly and attempt to internally manage and control what is happening to them. Their issues become clear when Michelle constantly opts out of girl's night, Junior the polite teenager gets increasingly violent towards his peers; or worse ‘happy-go-lucky’ Lauren commits suicide. We then begin to wonder, what is the cause? Not realizing they are possibly experiencing a mental health challenge.
Mental Health in the Caribbean Community
Reports state that 1 in every 5 Caribbean person is vulnerable to mental health issues, including but not limited to psychotic disorders, mood disorders, suicide, dementia and anxiety disorders. That means we regularly come into contact with someone who may have a mental health disorder, whether it be in our neighborhoods, at our jobs or social gatherings. For many people, they may not feel comfortable to seek help because of the negative stigma attached to being affected by a mental health disorder or their inability to identify symptoms or access treatment.
Seasonal Affective Disorder
The simple fact is mental health diseases are not discriminatory, and triggers are a person’s lifestyle, work environment, life changing events and the weather to list a few.
Have you ever contemplated the reason during the winter months you experience significant changes to your energy levels, sleep pattern, among many other things? Like others, you may pass it off the ‘winter blues’. In reality, you are experiencing symptoms of seasonal affective disorder – a form of depression mainly experienced during the autumn and winter months. This is especially high among Caribbean people, because our minds and bodies are conditioned to rely on exposure to the sun; which is limited during the colder months.
Break the Stigma
Social stigma is still a critical reason for continued mental health issues in the Caribbean community; and to overcome this, education and cultural changes has to occur. Each of us has a part to play in bringing awareness to mental health challenges, to change the negative stigma attached. Most importantly, government officials and other key stakeholders must lead relatable educational campaigns; as well as invest and give the much needed aid to facilities that offer treatment and help to affected individuals and their families.
Mental health illness is not a crime. It is not something we should ever be ashamed of.
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