Wilful Ignorance; Society's Answer to Social Inequality and Excuse to Avoid Addressing the Mental Health Gap
Hey my dear friends!
Today we are discussing something super important – mental health & fairness.
Why are we talking about #fairness when life is anything but fair? Well see that's the point of this mini post/ rant. We CAN'T ignore the inequalities in our society, especially when it comes to MH issues.
Let's imagine for a second that our society is like a puzzle. Puzzles come in boxes and all of the pieces are all mixed up. So what do you do? You start sorting pieces by edges, colors, & even shapes. Once you have your groups, you can start placing similar edges together, usually starting with corners and building from there. After you have the frame or the boarder, you can then begin to place the inner pieces together and create your masterpiece. But what happens when you start getting to end, and you notice something, some of the pieces are missing, leaving you unable to complete your puzzle. You check to make sure that there are no floating puzzle pieces on the table, maybe you even check the floor, fingers crossed you didn't vacuum them up! Let's face it, having an incomplete puzzle is no fun. You can't complete it. And just like a puzzle missing a few pieces, society is the same way. Our society is built on systems that leave certain groups of people out of the puzzle, unable to connect or join in on the masterpiece. Just like when you are missing a few puzzle pieces, it's Not cool.
In her book, "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America," Ijeoma Oluo talks about how our society was designed to keep historically marginalized people at a disadvantage.
Take a look at the news & you'll notice a pattern where some people are treated unfairly by the police, while others get away with literally anything. Which isn't right or fair. Over time, I have noticed that this unfairness tends to target many minority groups such as Black & Latinx, especially individuals with mental health problems. The result? They don't get the support they need. And nearly 90% of Black/ Latinx adults with substance use disorders can't even access any form care. How unfair is this?
But wait, the inequalities don't stop there. There's more! Indigenous communities have higher rates of alcohol struggles, & Black individuals are often misdiagnosed & are overprescribed medication for conditions like schizophrenia compared to people with white skin. And even more so, transgender youth also face higher rates of suicide than others. The list goes on, which is 12/10 heartbreaking.
You know what's even worse? Some people try to explain away these inequalities by saying it's because of biology or culture. What's even sadder is that they truly believe what they are preaching even though its fake news. People have been basically brainwashed to believe that BIPOC, Transgender, Nonbinary, Neurodivergent, groups are less than because they are inferior.
In medical schools, students are literally taught to blame oppressed patients for their poor outcomes, saying they're inferior. They did not take the proper steps to prevent X condition. They did not follow preventative care recommendations, or they did not seek treatment in an appropriate time frame therefore it is their own fault.But how can they if they have no access to health insurance? How can they afford such high premiums? Even if people somehow manage to come up with the funds to pay for their care, the wait times are outrageous, the quality of care is highly determined on the location in which you seek care, and even then, if a person does everything right, they can still face shame and judgement solely based on their background or genetics. It's not right to judge people based on their background or who they are. We should never put the blame on them for things beyond their control.
I know. I sound like a broken record. And I recognize that I have lots of my own biases and beliefs that I need to work on. I have privileges beyond my knowledge that I need to address and be more mindful of. The key here is that I am aware. I admit that I am far from perfect, and I will never assume I know how another person is feeling. I am flawed, I am so blessed to be living in a first world country that allows me to be alive and believe (for the most part) whatever I choose to believe. I understand that all my cognitive biases are there and that they exist. I can take committed action to combat my biases and ask others who are disadvantaged, how I can best support and be an ally to them.
I know that we can't change the past. We can however, accept that the current systems have failed certain communities, & that the current systems in place are not working & fight for mental health equity. Everyone deserves the same chance at a happy & healthy life, no matter their race, gender, or background. It's gonna take ALL of us to stand up against injustice & build a world where everyone's mental health matters!
CTA: Lemme know in the comments how you are combating social inequalities. Did you know this was even a topic that needed to be talked about? Are you actively reading or participating in any groups? If you have any questions, comments, recommendations, concerns, or ideas feel free to drop them in the comments below or email directly! I would love to hear from you!
%20%20%C2%A9%EF%B8%8F%20My%20Social%20Boutique..png)
%20%20%C2%A9%EF%B8%8F%20My%20Social%20Boutique.%20copy.png)
Today we are discussing something super important – mental health & fairness.
Why are we talking about #fairness when life is anything but fair? Well see that's the point of this mini post/ rant. We CAN'T ignore the inequalities in our society, especially when it comes to MH issues.
Let's imagine for a second that our society is like a puzzle. Puzzles come in boxes and all of the pieces are all mixed up. So what do you do? You start sorting pieces by edges, colors, & even shapes. Once you have your groups, you can start placing similar edges together, usually starting with corners and building from there. After you have the frame or the boarder, you can then begin to place the inner pieces together and create your masterpiece. But what happens when you start getting to end, and you notice something, some of the pieces are missing, leaving you unable to complete your puzzle. You check to make sure that there are no floating puzzle pieces on the table, maybe you even check the floor, fingers crossed you didn't vacuum them up! Let's face it, having an incomplete puzzle is no fun. You can't complete it. And just like a puzzle missing a few pieces, society is the same way. Our society is built on systems that leave certain groups of people out of the puzzle, unable to connect or join in on the masterpiece. Just like when you are missing a few puzzle pieces, it's Not cool.
In her book, "Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America," Ijeoma Oluo talks about how our society was designed to keep historically marginalized people at a disadvantage.
Take a look at the news & you'll notice a pattern where some people are treated unfairly by the police, while others get away with literally anything. Which isn't right or fair. Over time, I have noticed that this unfairness tends to target many minority groups such as Black & Latinx, especially individuals with mental health problems. The result? They don't get the support they need. And nearly 90% of Black/ Latinx adults with substance use disorders can't even access any form care. How unfair is this?
But wait, the inequalities don't stop there. There's more! Indigenous communities have higher rates of alcohol struggles, & Black individuals are often misdiagnosed & are overprescribed medication for conditions like schizophrenia compared to people with white skin. And even more so, transgender youth also face higher rates of suicide than others. The list goes on, which is 12/10 heartbreaking.
You know what's even worse? Some people try to explain away these inequalities by saying it's because of biology or culture. What's even sadder is that they truly believe what they are preaching even though its fake news. People have been basically brainwashed to believe that BIPOC, Transgender, Nonbinary, Neurodivergent, groups are less than because they are inferior.
In medical schools, students are literally taught to blame oppressed patients for their poor outcomes, saying they're inferior. They did not take the proper steps to prevent X condition. They did not follow preventative care recommendations, or they did not seek treatment in an appropriate time frame therefore it is their own fault.But how can they if they have no access to health insurance? How can they afford such high premiums? Even if people somehow manage to come up with the funds to pay for their care, the wait times are outrageous, the quality of care is highly determined on the location in which you seek care, and even then, if a person does everything right, they can still face shame and judgement solely based on their background or genetics. It's not right to judge people based on their background or who they are. We should never put the blame on them for things beyond their control.
I know. I sound like a broken record. And I recognize that I have lots of my own biases and beliefs that I need to work on. I have privileges beyond my knowledge that I need to address and be more mindful of. The key here is that I am aware. I admit that I am far from perfect, and I will never assume I know how another person is feeling. I am flawed, I am so blessed to be living in a first world country that allows me to be alive and believe (for the most part) whatever I choose to believe. I understand that all my cognitive biases are there and that they exist. I can take committed action to combat my biases and ask others who are disadvantaged, how I can best support and be an ally to them.
I know that we can't change the past. We can however, accept that the current systems have failed certain communities, & that the current systems in place are not working & fight for mental health equity. Everyone deserves the same chance at a happy & healthy life, no matter their race, gender, or background. It's gonna take ALL of us to stand up against injustice & build a world where everyone's mental health matters!
CTA: Lemme know in the comments how you are combating social inequalities. Did you know this was even a topic that needed to be talked about? Are you actively reading or participating in any groups? If you have any questions, comments, recommendations, concerns, or ideas feel free to drop them in the comments below or email directly! I would love to hear from you!
%20%20%C2%A9%EF%B8%8F%20My%20Social%20Boutique..png)
%20%20%C2%A9%EF%B8%8F%20My%20Social%20Boutique.%20copy.png)
Comments
Post a Comment