A Green Ribbon

           The United States, and the entire world for that matter, is in a state of a mental health crisis. From the pandemic to the black lives matter movement to the overturning of Roe v Wade, nearly every group of people in the United States and around the world have been adversely affected mentally. The lack of resources for marginalized groups, the variation between races and cultures, and the stigma associated with mental health have only exacerbated the issue. 

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          Numerous people attempt to attend therapy to battle their mental health, but the issue is that it is money-dependent. Not everyone can afford therapy due to their financial standings. The average fee for therapists is about $180-$200 per hour, meaning that if a person attends therapy about six times a week, 2-3 hours per day, on average, one would spend about $2,400. Imagine the costs to a person living off a $12 hourly wage with a 9 to 5 job; it would be impossible to get the help they need. 

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          Some cultures and even some parts of society look down upon mental health because it is seen as weak or being dramatic. In an interview with multiple students, the question, “What is the main cause surrounding the stigma associated with mental health?” was asked.  Many replied with either parents and or society. On top of the lack of resources, ethnicity also plays a role in one’s mental health. Studies show a clear correlation between ethnicity and feelings of depression, anxiety, and stress. Perceived stigma has created another roadblock for those seeking help from counseling and therapy. With all these obstacles it is no wonder most minority communities struggle to cope with the strife they encounter in life. 

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          The Better Health Channel (2015) suggests that currently, many people think of mental health as a person's entire identity. In reality, it is but a small fragment of their overall personality. If we continue to push people away and scare them off from freely expressing themselves and their issues, they will eventually be further isolated from society as a whole. Despite the amount of awareness and resources garnered in support of mental health, it is having little or no impact in the communities that are most affected, that being the African-American and Hispanic community. It also does not help when the message being spread in these communities is not one of openness but one of bottling up those emotions and “toughening up.” 

 

          The battle between mental health is not one that has to be fought alone nor should it. Potential solutions to said issues would be organizing town halls in the hardest hit communities to better inform them of the resources available to them to combat them. Another is to show loved ones or even complete strangers that you care about their mental health by wearing a green ribbon, which represents mental health awareness. It is the responsibility of everyone and every community to ensure that those close to them have someone they can share their troubles