When we talk about mental health, we're talking about something that includes our psychological, emotional, and social well-being. We're talking about something that affects how we feel, how we think, and how we act. These things are part of what determines how we make choices, relate to others, and handle stress. According to the CDC, one in five people live with mental illness. That's why talking about and taking care of our mental health is so important.
However, racial and ethnic minorities can find more obstacles in finding and receiving care and accommodations for these conditions and difficulties. This can be due to discrimination, cultural stigma around mental health care, cost and a lack of health insurance, or a lack of access to quality mental health care services. These groups can also face environmental challenges that negatively impact their emotional wellness, such as racial discrimination and racial violence leading to racial trauma.
That's why July is Minority Mental Health Awareness month.
Both the CDC and the Department of Health & Human Services Office of Minority Health encourage everyone--individuals, public health organizations, educators, health care systems, and communities--to educate themselves on mental health and the specific impacts and challenges for racial and ethnic minority communities.
This is a topic close to our hearts at Path To Publishing, and it's also a topic examined through the lens of a teenaged Black girl in the first release on our traditional publishing imprint, PTP Press: The Price We Pay by Nikki T. Anthony. The author recently had a chance to discuss this matter, as well as her experiences and book, on WLNS Channel 6 in Lansing, MI.
Please visit the websites for the CDC and HHS to find more resources about minority mental health awareness, and watch for the release of The Price We Pay by Nikki T. Anthony in September of 2023. You can preorder it now by clicking here.
Let's start a conversation about mental health in minority communities, and #JoinTheConversation about race relations and well-being in the US by visiting our crowdfunding page.