The Stigma of Mental Health in Diverse Communities

First let me describe to you about my life's path. I grew up in an upper middle class neighborhood in San Diego, California.  My father was a dentist and my mother was a teacher who later became a prinicpal of an elementary school.  Both my folks are from the South of the United States.  They both grew up under Jim Crow segregation. My mother marched with MLK and was water-cannoned. My father, well, let's say he was a "thug" in his youth. But, his father, my grandfather was a President of a Historically Black College and University in Daytona Beach, Florida.  So expectations of success in my house was expected.

I mastered many feats: Ballet, drama, jazz dance, music: piano and flute, some singing-which I would have been better, but did not want to take voice lessons. My parents paid for "Modeling" classes because I wanted to be a "supermodel", I competed in pageants, and I was even approached by an agent at 17 years old for the bigger pageants (i.e. Miss America)--but I felt I needed to go to college. Because I encountered to much negativity, such as drug use, inappropriate behavior and advances by old men, I suppressed my talent to be "smart"--use my brains in order to succeed.

The story in the summary is an facet of my experience: The teacher plainly told my parents that, "It is okay to get 'C's' in writing and English in the 3rd grade--especially when you are bused in..."  My father's mouth dropped, and he exclaimed, "We live up the street" and my mother had to be restrained from choking the bejeezus out of the dumb teacher.  I was placed into a remedial class for the following grade, where my self-esteem dropped. I was teased and harassed and that was when the feelings of self worth plummeted. My parents thought I was resilient. I was not. So, since that experience, I have proven if I was "smart enough" to do the job before me.

If they knew this or not, it became the stigma of mental illness from a well-to-do African American family. Puberty hit me like a ton of bricks with my menstrual cycle in overdrive, my mental health deteriorated.  By the time I started college, was the last time of intent to commit suicide. After a series of tests, drugs, and just not knowing what to do, I finally got a diagnosis of bipolar disorder, in 2000.

Since that time,  I have had improved my self-management, my clinician care management and just overall support by people who understand what its like to live with this chronic disease.

I started my business, The Ari | af | ya Universe, so that other women, like me, will NEVER have to go through what I suffered and get an early diagnosis to live productive lives.

My business is like an "Isle" sanctuary in a torrential ocean in cyberspace. I made it an online business to eliminate the cyber bullying done on social media that causes diverse people to desire to commit suicide from an online interaction. Because of this privacy and confidentiality, there is a fee to join the ranks of the "Royal Divinities". On the site, what we collaborate on through coaching, is after all the mentally ill episodes, the diagnoses, and tests, what are the participants next steps? What about caregivers--what do do when love is not enough? How to be in touch with oneself, one's body, and mindfully care for these health needs.

Mental illness is a health disparity. Diverse communities collectively are unable to seek qualified and licensed professionals to assist them with their mental health needs. Often, people are left untreated, disparaged, and alienated, until they are abusing substances, arrested or dead. Generations are lost due to ignorance of leading to culturally competency for care. Even with my level of education, I have had incompetence in my own mental health care and discordant therapy is no therapy...

The Ariafya Universe increases and optimizes the self-management techniques during those times of discord. Due to the interactive nature of social media, participants or "Royal Divinities" can have real-time solutions for increasing and optimizing the management of their care with shared experiences.

The Ariafya Universe de-escalates unhealthy rage through an outlet, then shared discussions to find healthy resolutions to anger.  One of the spaces in the Universe is the "Vent Section" where the Royal Divinities can be like "Hell Hath No Fury", but the twist is, no one can respond publicly...  Then, they can go to the "O'lakino O'hana Section" to work on their health.

Among all the social media community websites out there, few are devoted to diverse women like The Ariafya Universe, who is developing clinical trials specifically for women of color, specifically to relay to professional care providers on intention to treat and quality of care. Not all health care is one size fits all. While The Ariafya Universe knows that everyone deserves quality, affordable health care, culturally competency is sorely needed to eliminated the huge health disparities, especially seen in mental illnesses.

So, for those who desire embracement into The Ariafya Universe, just apply through the following website:

http://www.ariafya.com

Siyakwemukela! (Welcome!) to the Isles in The Ariafya Universe!