21st Century Mental Health Impact

In today’s climate the immediate access and inundation of chaos within the world we live in has become overwhelming. There is no other way to spin it…we live in a time of immediate access to ongoing trauma,whether disappointment, despair,uncertainty, hate, disgust…the list goes on and on. And in this snow globe of chaos, it becomes almost impossible to go throughout the day without being affected by the discourse of the human spirit. 

In speaking to the power of art therapy as a mental health practice, we need to recognize the different avenues in which creative self-expression can be most effective. Within today’s climate the need to address how one’s mental health can be continuously impacted just from trying to exist in a world that is not accepting. And thus the need for creatively expressing these pains of daily torment become more and more apparent within the field of mental health. 

At the forefront of continued debate becomes the idea of race….specifically ongoing racial divide. Especially pertaining to those who present as different than…less than…not equal to and unable to fit into the box of normal. In recognizing the ongoing divide of power, it becomes apparent to address the shift in ones mental health as a result of….specifically the trauma experienced as a result of how one is made to feel or treated as a result of the color of your skin.

To keep the discussion going the attached article provides a glimpse of the impact of racism and mental health….in hopes of normalizing how our treatment of others continues to be less than and therefore shifts ones ability to live a mentally stable existence. 

https://www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2017/10/racism-and-mental-health