This post was originally published on Michigan Chronicle
By Andre Ash
It can be a silent pain many Black men go through. The pain of depression and other life pressures which contribute to mental health issues. Traditional upbringings have taught Black men to be strong while wearing their cape of masculinity, often keeping their emotions tapped down tight inside.
From the COVID pandemic, which has taken a toll on most Americans, to the consequences of systematic racism and police brutality, which have taken further tolls on the Black community, tolls that have had a tremendous impact on Back men who aren’t always open to share what mental challenges they may be encountering. Media images of violence and police brutality depicted in the media against Blacks brings on another added toll and mental consequences.
“Traumatic events related to racism have been unrelenting for Blacks,” said Angela Neal-Barnett, PhD, professor of psychology and the director of the Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African-Americans at Kent State University in Ohio. “In good times racism is a stressor; in bad times racism is trauma,” she said, according to a published report in Every Day Health.