Mental Health in the 21st Century

   I grew up in a household with a DSM-III. Because my Ole Earth was a Social Psychologist she referred to it often. As a child, my younger siblings and I simply knew it as "the big book" among the many other books in our small library. I didn't understand its importance and how my parents orientated us until I got older. I'm not saying that the DSM is the Bible. My Ole Earth once said, "Psychology is the white man's Bible. You need to study everything you can about it." So in my household words and phrases like Transference, Self Mutilation, Schizophrenia and etc. were common place and I developed a working understanding of these concepts at a very early age. Being exposed to this at an early age also means that I was exposed the world of mental health. I recall an incident where my Ole Earth, a Case Manager of a Mental Health Agency at the time, was summoned to a Hospital because a client who suffered from Schizophrenia came to the Hospital with a pair of 24" hedge shears, locked himself in the bathroom and castrated himself because the voice in his head instructed him to do it. I could literally write a book about the experiences my Ole Earth shared with us about her work within the mental health field. In fact, my upbringing and gaining KOS [Knowledge Of Self] is one of the reasons I published the book Explorations of God/Earth Mental Health.

   Why am I mentioning all of this? Because it is my assessment that we are not having enough conversations about how our mental health has been and is impacted living in this society. None of us grow up here unscathed and there are various degrees along a psychological spectrum from folks using healthy coping mechanisms that foster mental stability to outright institutionalized mental illness. People fall somewhere within that spectrum and typically people have not been assessed or clinically diagnosed, especially within black communities where this type of thing is a taboo. Growing up, and even as adults, some of us have always just called uncle so and so, cousin so and so or other families members who displayed and display mental health issues as "crazy." And in regards to the behavior we see, all we often know is; they always been a lil touched, ever since they came back from the Army they ain't been right, they was smoking that sh*t, somebody slipped them a mickey, they ain't been the same since the funeral, ever since they broke up with so and so or a host of other reasons that may hint at a psychotic break or even a deteriorating mental state, yet not a formal assessment of what we're seeing. While people are judged, what you usually don't hear is societal judgement; the quantifiable impact society has upon shaping one's mental state, especially when that impact is an indictment. Among the clinical professions the traditional narrative is that a person's mindset and behavior in society is their own and needs to be addressed. The institutions, laws and cultural norms in this society are often not assessed, held accountable, modified or even removed that helped produce and maintain the very mindset and behavior we see people display. While this perspective of personal responsibility is true. The societal impact on one's psychological state coping with institutional racism, sexism, a chronic scarcity of resources in impoverished communities, redlining and various other social dysfunctions are equally true. So while we are indeed personally responsible for doing something about changing our condition, we are equally responsible for helping change the institutions, laws and cultural norms in this society that continue to shape the mindset and behavior of people. 

   Asili is a Swahili word for nucleus or origin. In order to understand an origin or nucleus we must take an etiological approach. Meaning, we must be dedicated to investigating the cause. In terms of mental health, even though the nucleus or centrally important part is a person's mental state, this mental state is centrally important to their role within their family, community and society. The institutions, laws and cultural norms in this society, good or bad, are the direct result of a person's mental state. There are countless examples of institutions such as Nambla, laws such as slavery and cultural norms that indicate mental instability on the part of those who were involved in creating them and those who maintain(ed) them. In many instances, that mental instability is viewed as standards normalcy. Consider the countless cases of mass shootings where it's not a given but arguable whether the perpetrators were insane. 

   The first step in assessing and addressing mental health is to start making this conversation normal, especially in communities where this is considered taboo. Simply having conversations like this makes it easier and resources more accessible. The next step is broadening this conversation to assesses and address the societal impact upon mental health. Having this conversation also makes it easier and resources more accessible. Lastly, we must commit ourselves to acting upon the things we are discussing, not simply for personal development but also in changing institutions, laws and cultural norms. Be an Advocate! This does not require us to build our own institution, although we can. Simply support those institutions who represent the stability you connect with. It does not mean that we have to run for public office, although we can. Vote for, volunteer and support candidates and legislation that your principles and values align with. 

Peace,
Saladin