As Black women, we often stay quiet when the world is tearing us down. On the outside, you may look just fine, waking up every morning and presenting the world a big smile.
Yet inside, the daily grind is eating you alive. This may be a silent indication that you’re suffering from anxiety and just don’t know it.
In our community, anxiety isn’t often talked about, but we’re discussing it today with my guest, Katie Stafford, who will share signs of anxiety and what you can do to combat the disorder from an experienced social worker’s perspective.
Shownotes
Meet Katie Stafford
- Katie is a licensed clinical social worker in several states and a qualified supervisor for interns.
- She provides individual counseling to adults between the ages of 18 to 99 plus.
- Katie is passionate about helping everyone who struggles with mental health, but has a special place for helping women of color.
Why Do Black and Brown Girls Deal With Anxiety?
- Growing up, you may have seen your mom and grandmothers face every single challenge that came towards them with ease. However, deep down they were really suffering and just unable to show it.
- Katie shares that it’s part of the reason so many women in the black and brown communities suffer from anxiety now. It’s been unknowingly taught to us that we must suffer in silence to keep peace.
- She also explains how society puts pressure on black and brown girls to perform at the highest level and to stay resilient no matter what they go through.
How Does Anxiety Manifest in the Black Community?
- Sadness, lashing out, and not wanting to get out of bed are often seen as indicators of laziness and an inability to control emotions. However, Katie explains that these are all part of the emotional range that is required to keep you safe.
- But in the Black and Brown community, when someone has anxiety, it makes them look like the bad guy. Anxiety can also cause racing thoughts, hypervigilance, and difficulty relaxing.
- Katie shares how Black and Brown girls are less likely to be treated for anxiety and only 14% of this demographic actually seek help for it.
Try Opening Up About Your Mental Health Problems
- You may see on TikTok how everyone is trying to use sage, crystals, Tibetan bowls to calm their nervous systems.
- We’re not saying all of these spiritual items don’t work. However, just talking can do wonders for your mental health.
Family and Religion: Mental Health Barriers
- It’s not just within African American communities in the states that people are kept from seeking help. In the United States, family embarrassment or religion may keep an individual from talking to a mental health professional.
- Katie also found how those within the Caribbean communities also discourage those suffering from going to therapy.
- Caribbean families often believe that mental health issues are curses. Instead of seeking a professional, they may go to a Voodoo priest for remedies.
Anxiety and ADHD: Which Is Making Things Worse
- Katie dives into how having ADHD can make anxiety symptoms a bit worse.
- She shares her diagnosis of ADHD and how before her medications she struggled with doing tasks. This caused her to beat herself up and make her anxiety worse.
Why is Anxiety Often Misdiagnosed in Black Women
- Katie shares how anxiety is often misdiagnosed in Black women with depressive disorder. This is usually due to how it presents itself, such as isolation, avoidance, lashing out, and crying.
- The misdiagnosis and mistreatment lead to mistrust and keep women of color from seeking help. Discouragement also comes from the difficulty Black and Brown women face in finding a therapist of their background.
- Katie discusses how the underrepresentation of women of color therapists keeps us from seeking professional help.
- Also, even when one is found, things don’t always go as planned, making it harder to even begin the journey to find help.
Reasons Behind People Pleasing
- In the mornings, while on your way to work, you may have the music blasting sky high and feel authentically in tune with yourself. However, once it’s time for you to clock in and you get around your co-workers, especially your bosses, there’s an automatic switch that causes you to act a certain way.
- This is a form of people pleasing and it often shows up in ways you don’t realize. Katie discusses how it can cause anxiety and present itself in different ways. She also provides tips on how to handle obligations when you don’t really want to.
“Know what your anxiety shows up as. What are you irritated about? Recognizing allows you to know when you’re struggling with anxiety. Approach your emotions with curiosity.” – Katie Stafford.
Resources
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Sponsor
This episode is brought to you by Fortis Mentis Psychiatry, where black and brown girls can find individual therapy, mindfulness, and meditation, coaching, medication management, and case management. To learn more, go to fortis mentis psychiatry.com/safeplace.