A Mental Health Moment
By Bernadette Joy Graham, MA, LPCC, LLC
The Truth Contributor
The upcoming presidential race of 2024 may be the most controversial in American history. It is the first time a woman of color is running for president of the United States of America; it is also the same first woman of color to serve as vice president of the United States of America.
Many women and men of all races sacrificed their lives during times of the passing of the 15th amendment in the 1850’s with the intention of giving all American citizens the right to vote. In 2012, turnout of Black voters exceeded that of white voters for the first time in history, as 66.6 percent of eligible Black voters turned out to help reelect Barack Obama, the nation’s first African American president. It was not long ago when women were not allowed to vote and now this November 5, 2024 a Black woman may win the presidential election.
Those voters who feel Kamala Harris (current vice president) will be the best candidate to serve as president for the next four years have every intention to cast their ballot for Harris but still in 2024 there are challenges to deter those votes. Centuries of racial oppression including systemic racism and segregation have led to feelings of intergenerational trauma.
Black voters have often indicated feelings of distrust of political systems and practices leading to powerlessness and choose not to vote due to feeling their votes will not lead to change and meaninglessness in doing so. Systemic inequality often leads to overwhelming stress that affects one’s overall mental health reducing motivation to vote.
Within areas of poverty, homelessness and economic hardship of Black communities often leads to depression, anxiety and other co-existing mental health challenges of instability will make eligible voters to focus more so on needs to survive over engaging in civic activities that include political policies and voting. Take a mental health moment to reflect on the many reasons, that mental health is important. Individuals can fail to register to vote or make it to the polls due to poor mental health.
Our next president will weigh heavily on healthcare needs and change in America. Please vote and vote wisely as the winning candidate will affect us all and all of our own mental health.
Bernadette Joy Graham, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor and Certified Grief Recovery Specialist can be reached via Email: graham.bernadette@gmail.com
If you feel you may be in a mental health crisis, please call 988 or go to the nearest emergency room.