This year for Black History Month, we will be highlighting different mental illnesses each week and two prominent members in the Black community who have spoken out about their experiences with them. We aim to highlight that even though someone has a mental illness, they can still be successful.
Earl Simmons, better known by his stage name DMX, is a multi-Platinum American rapper and actor. He grew up in the projects, where robbery was commonplace. He robbed from drug dealers and spent much of his adolescence in and out of juvenile detention and youth home groups. As an escape route, he found his passion for Hip-Hop rapping.
At age 14, DMX was introduced to crack cocaine after being tricked into smoking a cigarette laced with the drug. For years, he downplayed his mental health and substance abuse issues and intended to focus on his music career. However, in a Dr. Phil interview, he revealed his suffering from bipolar disorder – a disease that causes severe mood swings between mania and depression.
DMX wasn’t the first Black artist to open up to the world about his mental health. Other black hip-hop artists like The Notorious B.I.G. introduced “Suicidal Thoughts” in 1994 and the Geto Boys 1991 release “Mind Playing Tricks on Me” about the realities of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) from living in the hood.
As studies have shown, Black Americans are less likely to seek psychological help than white Americans. The main reasons are that Black people have historically received worse care from health professionals, leading to more misdiagnoses. Mental-health issues often aren’t seen as being “real” within the community, especially Black men, indicating signs of weakness. DMX’s internal struggles were made a part of his narrative; he focused on living his truth, disregarding these beliefs. This was groundbreaking for Black men.
In DMX’s last years, he focused more on sobriety and connecting with God. “Every day, I start my day off with a prayer to ask the Lord to guide my steps. Cover me and keep me safe. Every album, there’s a gospel song and a prayer. Every album, from the beginning.” For him, mental illness was not seen as a weakness, rather a strength to share his story and help others dealing with similar situations.
Black women also face challenges with drug addiction, like American musician, actress, and model, Mary J. Blige.
Blige had a troublesome childhood due to her mother’s alcoholism and her father’s abuse. Her father left the family when she was 4 years old.
Blige and her mother moved to the projects to escape the abuse, but it seemed to follow them. According to Biography, she said, “I’d hear women screaming and running down the halls from guys beating up on them,” People chased us with weapons. I never saw a woman there who wasn’t abused. It was a dangerous place.”
The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul’s 1994 album, “My Life” was inspired by these difficult childhood circumstances. She admits to severe depression during this part of her life. According to the New York Daily News, she said “‘My Life’ is probably my darkest album at one of my darkest times I had,” Blige says in the trailer, according to the New York Daily News. “Most of the times, I was just depressed and didn’t want to live.”
At just the age of 5, she was sexually assaulted. The detriment from this unsettling experience led to substance abuse in her teenage years and adulthood. Her alcoholism and substance abuse became an escape route from the childhood trauma.
Eventually, she was able to turn her life around and find a stable peace of mind. In 2021, she featured in the Amazon documentary, “My Life” about her difficult past experiences. Speaking her truth helped her to heal and found beauty in living to tell the story, according to Billboard. Blige remains one of the biggest sensations in the music industry and inspires many women around the world with her successes.
Both stars dealt with unstable housing in their childhood, which led to serious mental health issues down the road. According to a study by Mental Health America, black people living in poverty are twice as likely to report serious psychological distress. The same study also found that binge drinking, smoking and illicit drug use are more frequent among Black adults with mental illnesses. Although these correlations are striking, both artists learned to find peace with themselves and overcome their battles by sharing their narratives.
Addiction is the inability to stop using a substance or engaging in a behavior though it is causing psychological and physical harm.
The American Society of Addiction Medicine defines addiction as “a treatable, chronic medical disease involving complex interactions among brain circuits, genetics, the environment, and an individual’s life experiences.”
Symptoms of addiction include:
• declining grades or difficulty at school
• poor performance at work
• relationship difficulties, which often involve lashing out at people who identify the addiction
• an inability to stop using a substance even though it may be causing health problems or personal problems, such as issues with employment or relationships
• a noticeable lack of energy in daily activities
• profound changes in appearance, including weight loss and a noticeable abandonment of hygiene
• appearing defensive when asked about substance use
If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
If you would like to speak to someone about better managing your stress and anxiety, or to make an appointment, please call (717) 782-6493 for more information.
Sources:
• https://www.hiphopscriptures.com/dmx
• https://tidal.com/magazine/article/mental-health-dmx/1-78211
• https://blackdoctor.org/dmx-bipolar-disorder/
• https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mary-j-blige-9468.php
• https://www.thelist.com/183176/the-stunning-transformation-of-mary-j-blige/
• https://www.mhanational.org/issues/black-and-african-american-communities-and-mental-health
• https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323465#helpful-organizations