The tragic deaths of Kate Spade, a fashion designer, and Anthony Bourdain, a celebrity chef, it served as a reminder that mental health conditions do not discriminate based on celebrity or wealth. However, there are still some of us within the Black and Muslim community who believe that these conditions are only for white, non-Muslims and the wealthy, which is blatantly untrue. Within the last few weeks, Michelle Williams from Destiny’s Child revealed she sought professional help to deal with her mental health conditions and rapper, Fat Joe, openly discussed his battles with depression. I appreciate that they are being open and honest with the public because it can help alleviate some of the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, especially within the Black community. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 18.6% of Black people suffer from mental health conditions. In 2008, July was designated as Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, which will help raise awareness about the challenges minorities can face in seeking treatment and to increase access to organizations that can provide services.
Mental health conditions do not discriminate as it can affect anyone regardless of race, religious affiliation, financial status or gender. And I’m one of those people. I have mental health conditions and I’m currently seeing a professional which helps me handle them. To me, words are important and hold meaning, so I do not use the word ‘suffer’ when discussing my mental health conditions because it sounds like I’m losing the battle. Because I’m not, I’ve reached a good median and I’m maintaining it. These conditions do not define me but they are a part of me. I’ve learned there is no shame in that.
To help remove the stigma from the next generation, I told Hafsa about them in simple terms. I used her asthma as an example that some people are born with illnesses but that does not make them any less normal or weird because that is the way that Allah made them. My conditions are similar to her asthma in that both are invisible but that doesn’t make them any less real. Also, I pointed out that she has to see a specialist to help her maintain her attacks, so do I. Both her doctor and my doctor provide services that help people feel better. At the end of our conversation, all of her questions were answered and she left it with a fuller picture of me.
In both of my communities (Muslim and Black), we need to work harder to remove the stigma surrounding mental health conditions so that our communities can stop living in shame and get professional help. Our communities are suffering alone and in silence. We need to start treating mental health conditions like any other physical illness. There are several myths and misconceptions surrounding mental health conditions that are perpetrated within both the Muslim and Black communities. These are just a few majors ones I have encountered.
4 Harmful Mental Health Myths
1. Pray It Away – You cannot. There is no magic formula for the number of prostrations that subtracts mental or physical health. Yes, Allah can cure any disease but who is to say that the cure will not be in talk therapy or in pill form. If I’m having a heart attack, would you tell me to prostrate or would you encourage me to go to the doctor immediately? We all should turn to Allah in our time of need but we should not let that stop us from seeking out other help as well.
2. A Weakness of Faith – My brother actually told me that if people did more ibadah (acts of worship) then there would be no mental health conditions. There is no correlation between the amount of faith someone has and whether they will have any illness. Both practicing and non-practicing Muslims suffer from mental health conditions. We do question the amount of faith that a cancer patient may have, so we should not question that of a mental health one.
3. Imams Are Therapist – Generally, they are not qualified to provide mental health counseling. This is not in their expertise. However, some Masjids have acknowledged the need to provide mental health services to their communities and have brought in qualified individuals to either provide counseling or to direct members to services.
4. Only a Muslim Therapist Can Help – There is a real fear that non-Muslim therapists cannot provide adequate help because they will say or recommend a treatment that is contradictory to Islam. This is a possibility, but I recommend interviewing any potential therapist to determine their psychological theories and philosophies. Ask them about their basic understanding of Islam, if they have no knowledge, you might want to reconsider seeing them because you could be spending a lot of time in your sessions, explaining the fundamentals of Islam.
Alhamdulillah (All Praise to Allah), more communities and popular Muslim spaces are willing to openly discuss mental health conditions. If you are in emotional crisis and need immediate help, contact the US National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Test Line by texting HOME to 741741. The hotline is available 24/7. If you are in the UK, you can call the Samaritans on 116123. Amala Muslim Youth Hopeline is staffed by Muslim youth; the line is available Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 6pm-10pm PST at 855-95-AMALA. Naseeha is Muslim youth hotline is available Monday- Friday 6PM – 9PM EST at 1 (866) 627-3342.
Thank you for your strength and courage to share. Building on the NAMI statistic– of the 18% of African-Americans who have mental illness, only 25% seek help. Reasons for this may also include a lack of black mental health providers as well as the general perception of black lives as disposable and black contributions to the larger society as insignificant. One of my loved ones is dealing with mental illness as well. Peer-to-peer support groups have been helpful for me as well as learning ways to avert potential crises (by asking questions like: What are your triggers? Do you need more time alone today? Or my favorite, “Have you fed the cat?” which really means ‘Did you take your medication yet?’) Slowly, but surely our communities will be freed of this unnecessary shame– insha’Allah.
You raise a very good point. The feeling of our lives being disposable can negatively affect our self-esteem and self-worth, which increases our mental health issues. I believe in finding the right Black therapist, who can be culturally sensitive to our issues in America. Sending love and support to you and your loved one. Asking and listening to open-ended questions is helpful.