Dah gyal mad, bai!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a great week. Today is Friday, so that means a new blog post! This week I wanted to discuss mental health in the Caribbean community, especially in Guyana.

Mental health is a taboo subject in many parts of the world. Within the West Indian community, it is a problem that is largely ignored. There is a stigma against mental illness in Guyana and this stigma hinders the opportunity to promote discussions on topics like Mental Health and Suicide prevention. It is important that we end the stigma surrounding mental illness in our communities because it affects thousands of people and without proper education and resources, it can be extremely harmful. In Guyana, it is. Guyana has the third highest suicide rate in the world (Elflein, 2019). In a country of approximately 800,000 people, this number is TOO HIGH.

When I was 13 years old, I had my first panic attack. I remember crying, shaking, and being terrified. I felt like I couldn't breathe. My chest was tight and I felt so cold. Unfortunately, it was the first of many more to come. At the time, my mom knew exactly what was happening. She had been suffering from anxiety for a large part of her life. My dad on the other hand, didn't understand what was happening to me. He consoled me with my mom and I could tell he felt bad for me, but I knew he didn't understand what was going on (and that's okay!). Not everyone will understand anxiety. They won't understand why you're on edge or irritable because your mind is going a mile a minute and somehow your brain has convinced your body that you're going to die. It's terrifying, and to be honest, I wouldn't wish it on anyone. What is important is how people handle this confusion. If you don't understand anxiety because you haven't experienced it, that's fine. But what's not fine is minimizing anxiety and passing it off as "just being crazy". Throughout my teenage years and young adult life, I continued to suffer from anxiety. What I've also suffered from is the minimization of it. My mom understood the weight of anxiety and how that weight brings you down mentally. Years ago, I was feeling down and generally sad. My father on the other hand was irate. I was bombarded with questions, "How could you feel like that? "Me na able" "You have a roof over your head, you have food?" "What's wrong with you?" "Yuh mad" "That must be the white in you". Not only did I have to deal with the effects of anxiety, I had to deal with the cultural expectations put on me. In West Indian culture, there's always pressure to be the perfect daughter. Make sure you go to school, make sure you get a good job. Watch what you wear, or say or do. God forbid your aunties or uncles see you do anything that is outside of what is expected of you. I was even told I should be ashamed, and that my family would be ashamed and disappointed that I felt depressed.

But why? Why is mental health such a taboo subject in Caribbean culture? Why is it labelled as a "white person" problem? Guyana is has the third highest suicide rate in the world. A 2012 WHO report indicated that Guyana had a suicide rate of 44.2 per 100,000 people. (WHO, 2008). The global average is 16 per 100,000. For a country with only approximately 786, 391 people, this is extremely high. It is a combination of so many different factors, all contributing to mental health issues. From lack of resources to stigma to alcohol misuse, suicide plagues the country. Guyana is one of the poorest countries within the Caribbean. It would be wrong to attribute this issue to one cause.

" The National Suicide Prevention Plan states that East Indians, who make up roughly 40 percent of the population in Guyana, accounted for over 80 percent of the country's suicides between 2010 and 2013. That statistic has led some experts, including Osunbiyi and Gaiutra Bahadur, a Guyanese journalist and Harvard Nieman Fellow, to look to the past for clues."

(Rawlins & Bishop, 2018)

There are multiple factors that play a key role in the suicide rate within Guyana. As mentioned above, we need to look at the past to understand how it has impacted our future. Guyana began to import indentured laborer's after slave labour was abolished. Many of these labourers were from the lowest castes in India. The East Indian women labourers were ranked lower than the men.

"Two struggles for power unfolded simultaneously, one between indentured men and the system that made such wild claims to ownership — a system that saddened, emasculated and induced suicide — and another between Indian men and their women." Coolie Woman: The Odyssey of Indenture - Gaiutra Bahadur

(Rawlins & Bishop, 2018)

This power dynamic still persists in Guyana today. General poverty, lack of resources, and cultural expectations all contribute to the high suicide rates. Approximately 60 percent of it's population resides in isolated villages. In these communities, jobs and community resources are scarce. People such as agricultural workers are especially vulnerable due to social and economic circumstances. Many people within these communities turn to alcohol and self-harm to cope. In fact, it is a past time. According to a 2010 study, by the Pan American Health Organization, a reported nearly 80 percent of Guyanese adolescents had their first drink by the age of 14 (WHO, 2008). Coping mechanisms such as these only fuel the fire and people with a substance use problem are up to three times more likely to have a mental illness. In a country where not only alcohol abuse but domestic abuse an issue, these factors only contribute to an ongoing crisis. It is not only a personal issue, but a national issue. Ignoring mental illnesses only worsens the problem. The suicide rates in Guyana will only continue to rise without any government interference.

How can we eliminate these factors plaguing our communities? What can we all collectively do as a community to end the stigma against mental illness? How can we eliminate a problem people don't believe in? We can start within ourselves and our families. Not everyone will be open to discussions about mental health. In fact, majority of people will most likely not change their perception of mental illness overnight. It is cemented in our culture that mental illness isn't real, or that it is shameful. But that doesn't mean we give up. I We have it within ourselves to raise people that know and understand mental illness isn't something to be ashamed of. It's so common, why do we continue to hide it?

References:

Elflein, J. (2019, August 23). Suicide mortality rate, leading countries worldwide 2016. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/710710/ranking-of-leading-20-countries-with-highest-suicide-mortality-rates/

Household Budget Survey. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://statisticsguyana.gov.gy/

Mohammed, F., & Twitter., F. (2015, June 03). Guyana: Mental illness, witchcraft, and the highest suicide rate in the world. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/jun/03/guyana-mental-illness-witchcraft-and-the-highest-suicide-rate-in-the-world

Rawlins, W., & Bishop, M. (2018, June 29). Trying To Stop Suicide: Guyana Aims To Bring Down Its High Rate. Retrieved November 11, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2018/06/29/622615518/trying-to-stop-suicide-guyana-aims-to-bring-down-its-high-rate

Rush et al. (2008). Prevalence of co-occurring substance use and other mental disorders in the Canadian population. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 53: 800-9.

WHO-AIMS Report on Mental Health System in Guyana, WHO and Ministry of Health, Georgetown, Guyana, 2008.