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Kunjufu · (#10 (**permalink**))

Mike Pain: perhaps one of the reasons why people didn’t respond to this thread is because you made it too simplistic and too linear ….the problem with Mental health isfar too complex a subject to bring down to Black Vs white..it just isn’t THAT simple sorry..

So for me the REALLY tough questions/points are these……

Drugs: all communities (not just the black one) needs to get a grip of the fact that there is a connection between cannabis and increased mental health among the youth no doubt about it.. especially if you consider the strength of skunk in the compound of the cannabis smoked today. The Labour Government made a massive mistake in downgrading cannabis and this too has led to increase drug induced psychosis among BLACK youth who are misguided into believing cannabis is harmless it is not.. More importantly we must tackle the relationship between the youth and drugs ie what is the trigger for drug useage and what maintains it….because if things do not change the numbers in our community becoming ill will rise out of all recognition. FACT!!!

Why are Blacks becoming ill in such high numbers: having just got back from the JA, the simple truth that struck me whilst in JA is that I did not see the high numbers of black men ad women walking the streets in a maddy maddy state….and my question is why? I’m sure anyone reading this will back me up when I say that tomorrow if we go to work or about our business, it will be a case of spotting the sane BLACK man on the street…. So why is it that a so called developing nation like JA and Africa appears to have significantly less cases of mental illness compared to the so called developed nations.. This is a serious question that has to be asked… I suspect that there is something about being BLACK and in the WEST that is seriously detrimental to the mental wellness of BLACK people.. I’m not sure what it is but for me this is becoming a firm conclusion comparing my experiences and clinical knowledge of the two cultures and the intelligentsia among us need to investigating why this is…

Blacks in the system: I know for a fact that there are two KEY issues that contribute massively to the high numbers of Blacks returning to the system…. 1[suP]st[/suP] is that if you accept that social issue contribute massively to mental illness.. then it seems to me highly questionable to section someone, treat them medically, but then return them to the same issues that triggered their illness in the first place….all that happens in this example is a culture of dependency on the system when things get tough, instead of independence and that’s the really BIG problem at play here…not that WHITE are being racist, the issue is that the system is meant to contain, not FIX the situation… secondly it is a fact that BIG BIG money to spend on black people whilst in care, in fact I think its fair to say that the system spend TWICE as much on us than they do on whites FACT!! However this is NOT a cause for celebration or joy, why because those high cost figures reflect the fact that many of us (black) when in care are held in high secure and more expensive hospitals… that many of us like the chap from Springfield who was let lose and then killed the man in Richmond park… pay a heavy price for the incompetence of clinical staff time and time again…and once you have a criminal tag under the system trust me the threshold for re-admittance is much lower and the likelihood of re-admittance is significantly higher FACT!!! It is also a fact that we (blacks) pay a higher price compared to whites when we commit crimes when unwell…

Knowledge of family: this bit is the most difficult bit to grasp, the fact is our in built fear of the system is without doubt contributing to the high numbers of BLACK in the system… a common scenario is that family and friends will shield a clearly unwell person from the system.. until the moment when they become uncontrollable or worse they commit a capital offence… at this point the above points raised in the previous paragraph comes into play… I understand why it happens, but seriously sometimes WE are our own worse enemy on this issue… Mental illness is like any other type of illness if you do not get help early enough, it can become permanently rooted and in effect incurable. (read circles of fear by the Sainsbury foundation).. The simple fact is this, some families are misguided in their view that it is BETTER to hide their loved ones from Babylon… the fact is the longer you delay treatment the worse the situation gets all round…. However if you have a loved one that is unwell, the other big factor is that too many people are ignorant of the LAW that governs mental health, the types of treatment routes available and worse ignorant of their RIGHTS are parents and carers..and THAT more than anything contributes massively to the high numbers of blacks in the system… unless we step up with our knowledge on these areas this will continue..

Finally and for me crucially we will continue to have increased numbers of BLACKs in the system, if we fail to understand the strength and power of the family and extended family unit…unless we re-establish these support systems we have pre and during the Windrush period……none of what I said above will count, because there is little doubt in my mind that a strong family and friend support system (community) is key to alleviating this situation without it the numbers will grow and grow….

Now Mike Pain( or forum) I’d like your response, views or opinions to the points I’ve just made…