Week of 5.2.17

The article relays a truth that isn't talked about at all in household settings. Speaking out & telling someone how you feel is portrayed as being weak & not "man or woman" enough, we are often told to "suck it up" (pardon my language) & keep moving. The anger & sadness keeps bottling up until you explode & take action on things that you or your family might regret later on. In my personal case, I was always angry & doubting myself as a person but I was lucky enough to meet a person who has gone through a similar situation & seeked help. The person that I'm referring to is my girlfriend, she has been the one encouraging me to open up to her & tell her how I feel without any judgement. Overtime, even if I speak to her for 5 minutes at a time, since I'm always buried in my books, it takes a lot of stress & anger away. My girlfriend always tells me "One day at a time, one day at a time" & that's what Mrs. Carson is doing, she knows she has depression & knows what the warning signs are & tries to be better everyday.

Mental illness is often a topic that is taboo and shunned in society. It makes people uncomfortable and individuals suffering can often feel ashamed. Lauren Carson, was once apart of this group, and in this article she explains the hardships of living with a mental illness. She explains that she began medication at the age of 15, but it was nearly not enough to resolve her problems. Carson states that it was not until she was hospitalized twice, that she realized what she really needed was support. From the beginning she was raised to keep her feelings inside and remain strong, however as the saying goes the tighter you hold on, the more it hurts. Her closing sentence in the interview, “seeking assistance or help is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign of strength,” is a great representation of her nonprofit organization, Black Girls Smile. With Black Girls Smile, Carson can continue to empower and uplift several other people and possibly prevent girls like her from going through the same trials.

“Black Girls Smile” has clearly taken tremendous strides in providing a safe haven and outlet for many children across the country in various public schools as well as after-school programs. Ms. Carson, based on her own accounts has seen firsthand the trouble in dealing with depression. Particularly, I thought this article did an incredible job discussing the plight of African American girls, who are often told that they must be strong and independent as their mothers and mothers before them shared that mentality and unfortunately did not have programs growing up to help deal with such issues. Sadly, I have also heard about similar beliefs in another field of medicine such as Obstetrics and Gynecology. In this case, African American mothers did not allow their daughters to see a clinician for a regular Pap smear beginning at age 21 (as recommended by the current health guidelines), as the OBGyn clinic was viewed by their mothers and taught to them at a young age as a “place only for dirty girls”. Overall, I think it is very important that these ways of thinking are phased out for the upcoming generation, as medicine progresses and mental health specifically, no longer has to take a back seat for treatment.

The Black Girls Smile organization is a great initiative to open the lines of communication about mental health in young girls. Teenage girls are at a very vulnerable time because of puberty changes, social pressure to fit in, while creating a sense of self-identity. It is during this time that they make decisions about who they want to be as people. When depression comes at an early onset in the teenage years, it can be a very sensitive time. I can only imagine what the culture is like, encouraging girls to continually suppress their feelings of depression. Even within the entire society, there is pressure on women to be more tough than ever to survive in a "man's world."

Early detection is the key to saving these girls. An initiative is important to empower them, to let them know that it is okay to talk about their feelings. At such a young age, they can start to incorporate coping mechanisms that are mature (altruism, sublimation, etc), rather than immature (acting out, projection, etc). They should be educated on the fact that family history may be contributory, in other words, that their symptoms are due to genetic causes and thus, relieve any feelings of guilt. More so than any other factor, young girls should be educated about maintaining healthy habits for sleep, nutrition, and exercise. The importance of a healthy body in congruence with a balanced mind cannot be overemphasized.

Finally, the stigma around mental illness needs to be extinguished before it even originates. This can have a substantial impact on how teenagers view their mental health, by increasing their own insight into the mental state. This educational portion allows providers to have open conversations about treatment options including therapy and medication. The stigma that follows psychiatric medications goes beyond the social construct. There have been studies that show that polypharmacy and a psychiatric diagnosis increases a patient's morbidity and mortality. This should not be take lightly. However, the therapeutic advantage of medication should be emphasized and side effects closely monitored. I hope that this organization reaches the lives of many girls in its trajectory, and saves them from what is a manageable but sometimes difficult diagnosis.

Ms Carson was very courageous to talk about her struggles. Mental health is an issue that many people, both young and old, deal with but don't talk about because of fear of being stigmatized. There have been many instances where people struggling with mental health didn't seek help and ended up committing suicide. There are also articles about how many medical students experience depression and hide it only to commit suicide when they feel overwhelmed. An example is the MS3 student from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine who committed suicide from depression last year and it was the third incident at the school in two years. Ms Carson is doing an excellent work of bringing awareness to the struggles many people go through and this will help those dealing with mental health open up. More needs to be done to make people understand that having a mental health problem is like having any other disease, which would allow sufferers to seek help when they need it.

Great to see that there is a growing awareness of the struggles that many people face in regards to mental health-related issues. I've come to realize that mental health is just as, if not more, important than physical health. The discussion on physical health and related topics such as diet and exercise has certainly overshadowed the significance of mental health and the need to address mental health concerns in our life. It's often viewed as taboo to discuss issues with mental health, and as Lauren Carson suggested that it may even be perceived as a sign of weakness.  This is certainly a reason for why many people who suffer with a mental illness remain in denial of their condition and/or refrain from seeking help.  There need to be more organizations that provide assistance to those, especially the youth, suffering with psychiatric conditions.  I do believe that having insight on your condition can offer a different perspective on life; one that may be the reason for someone choosing to live. And this perspective may also just be whats needed to alleviate a degree of suffering.  I can only imagine how much more one would suffer if he or she were not aware of their mental illness.  I applaud Lauren for finding inspiration in her own journey with depression to create an organization that reaches out to those suffering with mental illnesses, in hopes that they may find relief sooner than later.  The last few lines of the article resonate with me and give off a great message --- seeking assistance with one's mental health issues is certainly a sign of strength.  Black Girls Smile is serving as a great example to others and hopefully more initiatives develop that serve the same purpose as Black Girls Smile but in other communities as well.