July or: National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month
- wrsartor
- Jul 18, 2024
- 2 min read
Updated: Dec 1, 2024
By Will Sartor
Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of suicide and similar subject matter.
Mental health, across the board, is a stigmatized subject to this day. However, one especially stigmatized type — much like men’s mental health which we discussed last month — is the mental health of minorities in the United States. For several years now, minority mental health has been at the core of awareness efforts during July in America. It was started based on the tenet that, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), “it is a time to bring awareness to the unique challenges that racial and ethnic minorities in the United States face when it comes to mental illness.”
These unique challenges lead to inequitable and unjust circumstances. It’s estimated that in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, less than 1/2 of African American adults received mental health care — a far smaller ratio than their caucasian counterparts. Even prior to the pandemic, this same trend was noted in Asian Americans. Additionally, minority-youth are more likely than non-minority-youth to commit suicide. Furthermore, studies suggest minority adults have lower treatment rates for conditions including depression compared to non-hispanic white individuals. These discrepancies are often attributed to minorities being less likely to have health insurance, reliable treatment options, and, as previously mentioned, stigma.
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month strives to make mental health knowledge and treatment more equitable. As an individual, you can become involved in the cause through a variety of ways. This includes donating to appropriate charities, or, as US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health suggests, “participate in conversations about racial and ethnic minority and AI/AN mental health on social media by tagging @MinorityHealth on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram, and using the hashtags #SourceForBetterHealth and #NMMHAM.”
It’s important for everyone — irrespective of background — to recognize the state of their mental health and receive support if needed. For more information, check out:
Sources:
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month 2024 (2024, July 3). US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health. https://www.fda.gov/consumers
/knowledge-and-news-women-owh-blog/national-minority-mental-health-awareness
-month
National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month (2024, July 8). U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/consumers/knowledge-and-news-women
-owh-blog/national-minority-mental-health-awareness-month
Comments