Fee
Fee
Keep asking for help
I think that there is a long way to go when it comes to people of color and indigenous people regarding mental health.
The attitudes are still not where they should be. There is a lot of stigma.
Fee wants to change perceptions about mental health in her community. She also wants to expand access to care for people of color.
Our sisters and brothers are struggling to get the health care they need.
They are overlooked, there are financial problems, and the resources just aren’t there.
As a Black woman, Fee has faced many barriers as she has sought help for her eating disorders, anxiety, and depression.
First diagnosed at age 11, she took part in inpatient, day treatment, and outpatient programs throughout her adolescence.
As an adult, Fee was diagnosed with dissociative disorder and PTSD. Her brother died by suicide, and she has been hospitalized several times for suicidal thinking.
As she has pursued care, she has come up against misunderstandings and stigma time after time.
It’s been hard because none of the doctors or nurses or therapists look like me or talk like me. It’s hard to relate and hard to trust them.
Representation matters. It’s important that the people who care for you understand where you’re coming from.
“It took a long time to find the right situation, the right balance. I still struggle, but I’m doing much better.”
Fee also felt that she was being pre-judged by some mental health professionals.
I felt a kind of judgment about who I was to them before they even got to know me.
One of the reasons women of color don’t complete their therapy is because we face that judgment coming in the door. It’s not comfortable.
We often don’t finish therapy because we don’t feel seen or heard or validated.
At the same time the health care system has presented challenges for Fee, she has confronted negative attitudes from her community.
In the Black community, there’s still this thing about not talking about what happens behind closed doors. So, it’s hard to do therapy and be open about it.
Also, racial disparities in the Black and Native communities contribute majorly to the stigma that alcohol and drug misuse are simply character flaws, something one does to self and not a disease of the brain.
This makes those needing treatment all the less likely to seek it and stay committed to it.
Despite the many obstacles, Fee has been able to get help for her conditions. She sees a therapist and a psychiatrist regularly, and she relies on an individual to help her with day-to-day activities.
It took a long time to find the right situation, the right balance. I definitely had my guard up because I had gone through so many doctors and therapists.
I still struggle, but I’m doing much better.
Getting help has been a long process for Fee—a process she knows she will be dealing with for the rest of her life—but it has been worth it.
She hopes others, particularly women of color, will commit to getting treatment if they need it.
It’s hard to keep asking for help when you don’t feel heard, but that is the only way out.
Keep asking for help. Get the right meds. Get the right treatment.
It can be humiliating to keep asking for help, but the only way out is to keep pushing through.
