What does depression look like as a black woman?
By La’Tya Wells, Clinical intern
Kasey Kasey King, LMFT
What is Depression?
Depression, sometimes known as major depressive disorder, is a medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Depression may show up as feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities that you once enjoyed.
According to psychiatry.org, depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:
Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Loss of energy or increased fatigue
Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, handwringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
Feeling worthless or guilty
Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide
But how does depression show up in Black women? Historically, therapy has been a taboo topic within the black community. There are a plethora of reasons for that, including healthcare disparities, lack of trust with healthcare professionals dating back to the Tuskegee experiment, intergenerational trauma - the list goes on. Not to mention the infamous, “Strong Black Woman Syndrome,” which doesn’t give black women permission to name or fully experience depression in its most raw clinical form. But rather, for black women, according to a study depression shows up in more high-functioning ways such as:
1. Emotional exhaustion
2. Irritability and anger
3. Physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach pain, back pain, joint pain, fatigue, appetite changes
4. Increased awareness of danger
5. Superwoman syndrome
6. Coping behaviors
Overeating
7. Sleep disruptions
8. Spiritual disconnection
As black women, we cannot afford to be depressed. We have kids to tend to, a partner (maybe) who needs us, and what about work? At work, (where we are often the minority), there is no room for us to have a down day, or moment, because we have to 3x better than those around us to even be considered hard working, while accepting 30% or more less pay. As a matter of fact, according to The Law Center, black women are paid 67 cents on the dollar. Therefore, black women mask in most spaces because many aren’t safe, and we have to keep pushing. I think it is time to change the narrative on that.
So How can Black women find help for depression?
Where do we go from here? This is a loaded question for sure, so how about we offer a few suggestions?
Therapy
There are a few ways to seek help with depression, including booking a consult with us. Therapy offers you a safe space to be you. Therapy also gives you the tools you need to work through whatever is sitting in your body that is preventing you from showing up health and whole. Of course, the right fit has to be there, so we encourage people to consult first.
Community Support
As we like to say here “Who are your people?” Having support from friends, family, religious group, book club, whoever, can sometimes be the difference between life and death. We are not meant to struggle alone and having a source of support you can reach out to, at anytime, is necessary.
Doctor/Medical provider
Is there something else that may be present such has post partum, seasonal affective disorder, perimenopause or any other medical issue that may be present. Ruling out medical first is key.
We go through enough, as Black/African American women. But we do not have to go through alone.
