As far back as I could remember, I was a chid who lived in fear and subject to horrifying nightmares. My mother was unfamiliar with counseling or looking into therapy to assist me during that time and frankly, finding a child screaming and crying about monsters was not something she was prepared for when I was a child. To remedy my nightmares, I was often disciplined and sent back to bed only to find myself huddling in a corner screaming again before daylight.
I had never heard of or saw an African American with "mental health issues." Mental illness was not something openly discussed in my family and the older I got, the more I felt ashamed and the more I became convinced that something was wrong with me and that I was a let-down to my whole family.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness:
Mental illness can affect any age, race, religion or income.
It is estimated that mental illness affects about 1 in 5 families in America.
All ages are susceptible but mental illnesses usually strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood.
Persons experiencing mental illness can be helped.
Posted By: Minister Linda A. Haywood
Thursday, January 22nd 2009 at 6:09PM
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