Holistic health, stress and justice
Image © 2020 NAACP
I’ve been thinking a lot about holistic health. I don’t necessarily mean alternative to Western medicine type of health such as acupuncture or herbal medicine – I mean looking at the whole person and thinking about how every factor in one’s life influences one’s health. And I’ve been thinking about health disparities in this country, for example how the coronavirus is taking such a toll on Black, Brown and Native Americans, perhaps because they have such higher prevalence of hypertension and diabetes, for instance. And again there are so many factors that go into why that is (in public health we call these factors the social determinants of health) and all of them are tragic – but because stress is such a huge contributor to disease, the amount of stress that so many Black and Brown people experience in this country just to feel safe in their daily activities is huge.
Brené Brown, the fantastic and engaging clinical researcher who discusses vulnerability, courage and shame has become so popular over the past few years, but her audiences appear to be mostly White women (like myself) who can be encouraged to think about these already-challenging topics such as vulnerability and shame in an empowering context. But I’m assuming it’s a lot more complicated for Black people in particular. To a White person in this country, the negative connotations for the word vulnerable may mean “weak” and we want to turn that around and bring vulnerability to our positive worldview in how we connect with others, and with the world. But to a Black American the word “vulnerable” might bring up that feeling they have every time they walk outside the door, hoping they aren’t the next hashtag (i.e. #ahmaudarbery). It’s a horrible way to go about one’s day, and one’s life. It’s a horrible thing to have to tell your children with their beautiful dark skin how the world is cruel in this way. The numerous conversations I have had with my daughters about how some boys and men can behave like predators is awful enough. We want our children and families to be safe.
How can we ever address the health disparities affecting people in this country without addressing this brutal racism? We just pick away at it in all the ways that we try to do but we will never change the fact that this country was built on slavery and genocide. We just never will. Black people know this. Native peoples know this. White people who are allies and advocates for peace and justice must understand this too — and never be silent.
Organizations listed below are reliably working on equality and justice for people of color, which you can support by donating (monthly is ideal — even $5/month) and/or getting on their email lists and taking action when the need arises — and the need always arises. I encourage you to pick one that resonates with you.
If you have additional suggestions, please feel free to share with me.