LMKS: Theories on Mental lllness, Race & Violence

Bunnyahh wrote: The Roundtable focuses on Depression and Mental Illness as it relates the black community.

i dont think mental ill health is on the rise, i do think that that there is systematic underdiagnosing in the black comm but awareness is rising, giving the illusion of an increase,

plus we need to factor in lax attitudes to drug use and how consistant drug use affects mental wellbeing which could result in drug induced mental ill health

this however goes back to my first post in this thread

zolloh wrote:   Quiann00 wrote: Sorry...This sounds like she never whooped his ass as a child and now that he's older, she's still talking to him like he's 3.  Or maybe he does have a problem and instead of the mother getting help for the child when he was younger, she ignored it.  Now that he's older, she can't control him and she wont control him. Sorry but I think part of the problem with mental illness in the black community is attitude like yours. We cant whoop mental imbalance away. Part of her blog: We still don’t know what’s wrong with Michael. Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder have all been tossed around at various meetings with probation officers and social workers and counselors and teachers and school administrators. He’s been on a slew of antipsychotic and mood altering pharmaceuticals, a Russian novel of behavioral plans. Nothing seems to work.  From NAMI: http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Fact_Sheets1&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=53812 • Culture biases against mental health professionals and health care professionals in general prevent many African Americans from accessing care due to prior experiences with historical misdiagnoses, inadequate treatment and a lack of cultural understanding; only 2 percent of psychiatrists, 2 percent of psychologists and 4 percent of social workers in the United States are African American. • African Americans tend to rely on family, religious and social communities for emotional support rather than turning to health care professionals, even though this may at times be necessary. The health care providers they seek may not be aware of this important aspect of person life. • Mental illness is frequently stigmatized and misunderstood in the African American community.

From personal experience, if she tried to access help for her child and he didn't qualify for an Autism spectrum, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant or Intermittent Explosive Disorder diagnosis, then obviously he doesn't have those problems. In the article, she noted that those disorders have been tossed around, yet they still don't know what's wrong with him, therefore they don't have a formal diagnosis. I believe in this case, the lack of discipline is an issue.

And like I mentioned before, my son has mild autism.  It doesn't take away from the fact that he is still a two year old.  Autism doesn't define him-he still have the potential to be bad when he wants to.  Therefore, when he climbs on my couch and jumps off, writes on my walls, tries to ride on the back of the dog, etc....stuff that a typical 2 year old would do, it is my duty to tell him that it's wrong.  If it continues, it is my duty to discipline him. It would be a disservice to him if I allow him to believe that he could do whatever he want to do because he may be a little different than his peers.  He still have to follow the rules.  When he goes to school, he will still have to follow the rules.  When he gets his first job, he will still have to follow rules.




Edited by Quiann00 - Dec 17 2012 at 10:45am