Being a woman of color can be exhausting. Living, loving and working in spaces that don't see and nurture us can leave us feeling unwell. That is why we have to take it upon ourselves to structure our life in a way that creates dignity within ourselves. Our goal at Melanin Mental Health and Wellness is to educate, empower and inspire women of color to embrace an all inclusive approach to living a balanced, fulfilling life.
Understanding Mental Health and Wellness
Mental health and wellness are often used interchangeably because of their similiarities. Mental health refers to person's emotional, psychological, and social well-being, and affects how we think, feel and act. When it is good, it enables us to manage emotions, engage in productive activities, and maintain fulfilling relationships. Wellness refers to a person's overall health, happiness and contentment in various aspects of life. It is harmony between the mind, body, and spirit; where one experiences physical health, mental clarity, emotional stability, and spiritual peace. Wellness can be a challenging task and requires deliberate attention to each aspect of our being in order to establish a healthy calm that promotes overall well-being.
Characteristics of Wellness
Physical Wellness : Taking care of our body by feeding it what it needs, working it with physical activity, allowing it to rest and getting regular maintenance via routine check ups.
Mental Wellness : Taking care of our mind by developing a positive mindset, learning how to manage inevitable stress, seeking therapy if needed, and doing things to stimulate the mind.
Emotional Wellness : Taking care of our emotions by developing emotional intelligence, paying attention to and being good to ourself, hanging around good people with good intentions and good follow though, and being honest with ourselves about ourselves, and sharing that knowledge with others.
Spiritual Wellness : Taking care of our selves by regularly connecting with our inner self (spirit), exploring our values and beliefs, and seeking deeper meaning in life.
Strategies for Achieving Wellness
1. Prioritize Self-Care
In communities of color, we are often taught to be other-oriented instead of self-oriented. Historically, enslaved Black women were required to take care of children and families that were not theirs, and be the caretaker for their own families and community. The caretaker role and identity is so deeply ingrained in us that focusing on the needs of others, sometimes at the expense of ourselves and our individual needs, is a normal part of our existence. It makes it difficult to consider self-care as anything other than a guilty pleasure, and it is, more often than not, placed at the bottom of our to-do list.
However, prioritizing self care is actually an act of community care. Self-care is neither a luxury nor selfishness, but a necessary component of overall wellness. Loving the person that loves our children well, makes for happier children. We can start by figuring out what brings us joy and peace, and make those things a regular part of our life. Simple things like making the time to read a good book, laugh with a two year old, spend time in/with nature, cuddle with a fur baby or simply enjoy our own company can minimize stress and help us feel better enough to be and do better.
Similarly, paying attention to things that demonstrate a pattern of stealing our joy and disturbing our peace, and exploring ways to decrease their presence in our life can improve our overall wellbeing.
2. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle
According to the primary federal medical research agency, NIH, and the leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation, Phizer, there are a number of health conditions that disproportionately affect minorities; asthma, autoimmune diseases, heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and HIV/AIDS, just to name a few. The reasons behind these health disparities are varied and layered, and highlights the importance of reconsidering the way in which we live.
Soul food is an affectionate staple in the African American community and is a diet with roots in slavery, when enslaved Africans had to make the most of the scraps of food they were given. The food adaptations born of necessity decreased the nutritional value of food, establishing an unhealthy diet pattern within the community that has persisted over generations, and has contributed to chronic health conditions.
With this in mind, rethinking our relationship to food and doing things a little differently is key to improving our physical well-being. Learn how the body works, what vitamins, minerals and nutrients it needs and be conscious of and intentional about what we put in our body. Drinking enough water, moving our bodies, and getting enough sleep are also things our body needs to replenish itself and work well, and is a vital part of physical wellness.
3. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of being present in the moment without judgment and comes from ancient Eastern traditions. This is important to note because African and Indian cultures share a worldview that everything is spiritual and a part of a unified whole. Mindfulness is a way of connecting with our center, and by cultivating it, we sharpen our ability to observe our thoughts and feelings from a healthy distance, which allows us to respond to them with clarity and composure. Being mindful and centering ourselves helps reduce stress, improves our ability to focus on the things that matter and contributes to our mental well-being.
4. Cultivate Positive Relationships
The African proverb of "it takes a village" emphasizes the belief that community serves as a buffer to protect and support the vulnerable. Being a part of a village helps affirm who we are, cultivates our strengths and is a crucial part of wellness. Nurture those relationships that bring out the best in you, communicate openly and honestly, and ask for help from people you trust to be there for you in the way you need them to.
There isn't a formula for building a support network, because everyone's needs, situations and personal styles are different. It's important to have a few people in our circle however, because having just one support person can lead to an over-reliance on our part and exhaustion on theirs. In a network made up of different people, we can get different perspectives to a problem which helps us develop a more well rounded view of the situation. Building a strong support network is key to emotional resilience.
Wellness Begins Within
People of color experience unique stressors of navigating systems of oppression that affect our mental health and wellbeing, and it's important that we take care of ourselves. Wellness is treasure that, when unearthed, helps us live in harmony within ourselves. In their 2017 journal article, Donna Nicole and Jennifer Yee explained that taking care of ourselves in spaces that threaten our personhood requires self-determination, self-preservation and self-restoration, and described this radical self-care as:
"practices that keep us physically and psychologically healthy and fit, making time to reflect on what matters to us, challenging ourselves to grow and checking ourselves to ensure that what we are doing aligns with what matters to us... Practiced faithfully radical self-care involves owning and directing our lives and choosing with whom, how, and how often we engage in our nested, interconnected worlds that we can be unapologetically ourselves in the face of unrelenting pressure and expectations to be otherwise."
With these thoughts in mind, let us consider having the audacity to honor our bodies, minds and spirits with good care and respect. We are deserving of wellness in all its forms, and should embark on this adventure together, embracing the journey with an open heart and a determined spirit.
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About The Author
Carlita L. Coley is a North Carolina native with Virginia roots. A Licensed Professional Counselor by day and a writer during all other times, she enjoys writing about the human experience and for educational purposes. Carlita currently writes blogs for Lita's Lens, Mental Health Matters, and Pet-Peutics.
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