Black Men And Depression

A first-of-its-kind exploration of black men and depression from an award-winning journalist. The first book to reveal the depths of black men’s buried mental and emotional pain, Standing in the Shadows weaves the author’s story of his twenty-five-year struggle with depression with a cultural analysis of how the illness is perceived in the black community—and why nobody wants to talk about it. In mainstream society depression and mental illness are still somewhat taboo subjects; in the black community they are topics that are almost completely shrouded in secrecy. As a result, millions of black men are suffering in silence or getting treatment only in the most extreme circumstances—in emergency rooms, homeless shelters, and prisons. The neglect of emotional disorders among men in the black community is nothing less than racial suicide. John Head’s explosive work, Standing in the Shadows, addresses what can be done to help those who need it most.In this groundbreaking book, veteran journalist and award-winning author John Head argues that the problem can be traced back to slavery, when it was believed that blacks were unable to feel inner pain because they had no psyche. This myth has damaged generations of African American men and their families and has created a society that blames black men for being violent and aggressive without considering that depression might be a root cause. The author also explores the roles of the black church, the black family, and the changing nature of black women in American culture as a way to understand how the black community may have unwittingly helped push the emotional disorders of African American men further underground. As daring and powerful as Nathan McCall’s Makes Me Wanna Holler, Standing in the Shadows challenges both the African American community and the psychiatric community to end the silent suffering of black men by taking responsibility for a problem that’s been ignored for far too long. Additionally, Standing in the Shadows gives women an understanding of depression that enables them to help black men mend their relationships, their families, and themselves.

“A call to action shedding light on the issue of depression in black men and the barriers that prevent too many from seeking and receiving care.”—Rosalynn Carter, former U.S. First Lady, and chairperson, The Carter Center Mental Health Task Force In mainstream society depression and mental illness are still somewhat taboo subjects; in the black community they are topics that are almost completely shrouded in secrecy. As a result, millions of black men are suffering in silence or getting treatment only in extreme circumstances—in emergency rooms, homeless shelters, and prisons. The neglect of emotional disorders among men in the black community is nothing less than racial suicide. In this groundbreaking book, veteran journalist and award-winning author John Head argues that the problem can be traced back to the time of slavery, when it was believed that blacks were unable to feel inner pain because they had no psyche. This myth has damaged generations of African American men and their families, creating a society that blames black men for being violent and aggressive without considering that depression might be a root cause. Black Men and Depression challenges the African American community and the psychiatric community to end the suffering of black men, and address what can be done by loved ones to help those who need it most. Previously published as Standing in the Shadows

Are you a Black man struggling with anxiety, depression or low mood? Are you ready to do the work? Then the Mental Health Mixtape is for you. Created specifically for Black men, this workbook uses a mix of psychological therapies including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behaviour therapy and mindfulness to teach you how to process and express your emotions. Develop coping skills for when you're going through it, and self care tips to keep your mental health on track. With a variety of guided journaling and thought record exercises, you'll learn to identify, tackle, and challenge unhelpful thinking and practice how to affirm yourself using the self help strategies in this book. Goal setting, activity scheduling and behavior activation principles are also used to help you establish good habits and provide ample opportunity to put what you've learned into practice. For those looking for a deeper understanding of themselves, and to get to the heart of their issues, this book's got you covered. The workbook starts with you understanding yourself and getting to know who you are as a person, what drives you, and identifying areas that might be causing you to feel the way you do You'll then go onto developing healthy coping skills and unlearning the unhealthy ones The final part of the workbook will give you practical skills you can implement straight away At the back of the book you'll find resources for Black men that are available across the US, along with several templates so you can continue your mental health journey in the long term Pick up this book for the Brother's in your life that need to do the work!

'I Had a Black Dog says with wit, insight, economy and complete understanding what other books take 300 pages to say. Brilliant and indispensable.' - Stephen Fry 'Finally, a book about depression that isn't a prescriptive self-help manual. Johnston's deftly expresses how lonely and isolating depression can be for sufferers. Poignant and humorous in equal measure.' Sunday Times There are many different breeds of Black Dog affecting millions of people from all walks of life. The Black Dog is an equal opportunity mongrel. It was Winston Churchill who popularized the phrase Black Dog to describe the bouts of depression he experienced for much of his life. Matthew Johnstone, a sufferer himself, has written and illustrated this moving and uplifting insight into what it is like to have a Black Dog as a companion and how he learned to tame it and bring it to heel.

A bestseller for over 20 years, I Don’t Want to Talk About It is a groundbreaking and hopeful guide to understanding and destigmatizing male depression, essential not only for men who may be suffering but for the people who love them. Twenty years of experience treating men and their families has convinced psychotherapist Terrence Real that depression is a silent epidemic in men—that men hide their condition from family, friends, and themselves to avoid the stigma of depression’s “un-manliness.” Problems that we think of as typically male—difficulty with intimacy, workaholism, alcoholism, abusive behavior, and rage—are really attempts to escape depression. And these escape attempts only hurt the people men love and pass their condition on to their children. This groundbreaking book is the “pathway out of darkness” that these men and their families seek. Real reveals how men can unearth their pain, heal themselves, restore relationships, and break the legacy of abuse. He mixes penetrating analysis with compelling tales of his patients and even his own experiences with depression as the son of a violent, depressed father and the father of two young sons.

This volume advances a uniquely Afro-centric, sociocultural understanding of health maintenance and risk reduction in African cultural heritage populations. It unites a diverse group of leading African and Africanist scholars in an exploration of common cultural values in African heritage communities and their practical applications in contemporary counseling. The chapters highlight the prominent health issues faced in Africanist settings today and use real-world experiences to illustrate core lessons for effective community action. The approach spans complex cultural milieus, from diversity counseling to conflict resolution. Each chapter includes field-based experiential tasks, discussion boxes, research boxes and case studies, which serve as valuable resources in both coursework and casework. Counseling People of African Ancestry is an essential primer for community health workers, counselors and educators seeking a better understanding of African cultural heritage settings to promote community health, well-being and development.

“A frightening tale that will strike a nerve in anyone whose life has been touched by the agony of mental illness” (People). It hides in plain sight—in the colleague who drinks too much, in the friend who keeps canceling nights out, in the teenager who won’t leave his room. It is frequently found running in tandem with other life-threatening diseases. It is in our colleagues, in our friends, in our families. Depression has afflicted Tracy Thompson most of her life. To the outsider looking in, she was a happy person with a rewarding career, a beautiful family, and a large circle of friends. But lurking beneath the veil of contentment was a dark, inexplicable, and all-consuming despair that she would later dub “The Beast.” In this unflinching chronicle of her continuing battle against “The Beast,” Tracy Thompson writes with ceaseless candor on her struggles and the internal war that pursued her from youth to adulthood, undermining relationships, complicating her career, and threatening her family. Thompson recounts this most personal and vital battle to reclaim her life before depression could take it from her. A seminal work on depression at publication, The Beast remains an essential read to the millions of Americans enduring this affliction, in either their loved ones or themselves. It offers an insightful perspective on the disease, and a glimmer of hope. “Ms. Thompson takes a clear-eyed look at work as well as love, intertwining the success story of her journalistic career (she eventually becomes a reporter on The Washington Post) with her record of numb despair, suicide attempts and hospitalizations.” —The New York Times