{"id":31187,"date":"2023-02-01T18:21:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-01T23:21:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthymindsphilly.org\/?p=31187"},"modified":"2023-02-07T12:02:27","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T17:02:27","slug":"can-a-clean-mirror-heal-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthymindsphilly.org\/dev\/blog\/can-a-clean-mirror-heal-us\/","title":{"rendered":"Can A Clean Mirror Heal Us?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last September, I wrote a blog on What Recovery Means to Me<\/a> to share the lessons I have learned and am still learning in my recovery process<\/span>. One of the promises I made and kept was to return to college and finish my undergraduate degree. By the grace of my Higher Power and with a lot of determination, I re-enrolled at Temple University. <\/span><\/p>\n

The year was 2013, and I was back at TUUUUUUUU!!! However, I faced another roadblock. What will be my major? Do I finish my degree in African-American studies? Or do I listen to the suggestions I got while in rehab from my fellow 12-steppers, peers, and staff to pursue a degree in social work or psychology program? <\/span><\/p>\n

I had the right attitude, awareness, and temperament for such an undertaking. Decisions, decisions, decisions! <\/span><\/p>\n

Ultimately, I felt it was important to give back as an African-American man and continue my bachelor\u2019s degree in African-American studies. As we celebrate Black History Month, I wonder if accurate teachings of African-American history can help heal the mental well-being of the African-American community<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In her book, <\/span>Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing<\/span><\/i>, Dr. Joy DeGruy shares that post-traumatic slave syndrome is the cause of many of the \u201cadaptive survival behaviors in African-American communities throughout the United States and the Diaspora \u2026 a condition that exists as a consequence of multigenerational oppression of Africans and their descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

These \u201cadaptive survival behaviors\u201d at one point served us, kept us safe and, for some, proved beneficial. But I could argue these behaviors are now doing more harm than healing, leading African Americans into a kind of identity crisis within our community. <\/span><\/p>\n

These behaviors were never intended to reflect who we are or reinforce our true identity; therefore, we have an incomplete view of ourselves. <\/span><\/p>\n

I am not na\u00efve. Disruptive practices will not magically disappear overnight from people learning accurate African-American history. However, the teaching of African-American history should be at the core of all transformative healing with the intention of firmly solidifying our sense of self and place in the world.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In our attempts to survive and, in some cases, escape our enslaving history, we have adopted foreign, dysfunctional, and false narratives, identities, and mindsets. I truly believe this distorted identity heavily affects the mental health of the African-American community. Distorted identity grossly misrepresents the vast, diverse, invaluable, and impressive array of our past, present, and future capabilities and achievements in human history and global discourse. <\/span><\/p>\n

Healing starts with applied knowledge!<\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author: E. Bernard Alexander, MAC<\/span><\/i>; Addictions Recovery Training Specialist, Behavioral Health Training and Education Network.\u00a0 <\/em><\/span>Bernard has served in several roles, including counselor and case manager, and has a particular passion and expertise with working with people looking to create substantial, holistic transformation and healing. Bernard is a foodie who loves the arts, culture, museums, literature and sports. <\/span>Go Eagles!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Resources:<\/p>\n

Culturally and Racially Sensitive Mental Health Providers<\/a><\/p>\n

Blogs related to Racial Equity<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last September, I wrote a blog on What Recovery Means to Me to share the lessons I have learned and am still learning in my recovery process. One of the promises I made and kept was to return to college and finish my undergraduate degree. By the grace of my Higher Power and with a lot of determination, I re-enrolled at Temple University. The year was 2013, and I was back at TUUUUUUUU!!! However, I faced another roadblock. What will be my major? Do I finish my degree in African-American […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":31425,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[986,716],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lived-experience","category-racial-equality"],"yoast_head":"\nMental Health in Black Men in Philadelphia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mental Health in Black Men in Philadelphia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last September, I wrote a blog on What Recovery Means to Me to share the lessons I have learned and am still learning in my recovery process. 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