Welcome back to #Cynthia@theTable. I am your host, Cynthia! A year ago, we launched the Cynthia@theTable or CATT Book Club Corner to offer a shame-free, unapologetic space, and an opportunity to ensure we are taking time away from our busy schedules to decompress, dialogue, interact, celebrate, and share some good reads together in a meaningful way as well as to contribute to the betterment of one another.
The bottom line and end goal is to elevate our overall well-being and self-care. I am especially excited today for 2 reasons: 1) This is our first time coming to the table since the launch of the Book Club to have a candid conversation about a topic that continues to chronically, and sometimes lethally, maneuver in silence and we, especially people of color, must bring this subject to, and keep it at, the forefront. 2) For our May episode, we are celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month. This is such a critical topic.
I have joined me here today for this special episode of our CATT Book Club, my BFF Deloris, and some of my other sistah, sistah friends, and colleagues Arena and Lori. Ladies say hello to everyone! I also want to take a moment to give a special shout-out and thanks to my niece, Marlo Washington, for designing our very nice and blinged CATT Book Club t-shirts. That’s right, we have our very own merch for the CATT Book Club. Thank you, Marlo! I’m also wearing lipstick by Mulan V and want to give a special shout-out to Mulan as well. Thank you, Mulan! Now, back to the topic at hand.
The featured book that we will be discussing today is Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen: The Emotional Lives of Black Women by Dr. Inger Burnett-Zeigler, a clinical psychologist and associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Northwestern University. We will be lifting up some of the primary points addressed in the book around some of the mental health challenges faced by Black women as well as explore how to identify and navigate through what healing looks and feels like. I recently learned that depression rates in the U.S. have surged to record highs, especially in young adults and women.
Now we won’t take a deep dive into the research on mental health disorders, particularly major depressive episodes, but I do want to share a few statistics to hopefully add some context to our book discussion.
According to the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 21.0 million adults in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 8.4% of all U.S. adults. The prevalence of major depressive episodes was higher among adult females (10.5%) compared to males (6.2%). The prevalence of adults with a major depressive episode was highest among individuals aged 18-25 (17.0%). I also heard in recent news that our teens are in crisis! 3 in 5 girls reported that they felt persistently sad; 41% said that their mental health was poor in the last 30 days; and more than 50% of LGBTQ teens reported high levels of violence.
That sounds like a crisis to me. I first became enthralled by Dr. Zeigler as she was debuting her book on the Good Morning America show where she was a featured guest being interviewed by Michael Strahan. He described Dr. Zeigler’s book as a “powerful roadmap to help Black women find a balance between strength and vulnerability.” He further pointed out that “African American women experience post-traumatic stress at a higher rate than other women,” noting that 8 in 10 have experienced some form of trauma. In addition, you can find some mental health resources on the CATT website.
Together, we can stop the cycle, and break the barriers and stigma – do not be afraid to reach out and ask for help. If you need immediate assistance you can start by seeking help from your primary health care provider. In closing, we want to thank you again for joining us here at Cynthia@TheTable. I also want to thank you once again for being here with me today my very special and dear friend, sistah friends, and colleagues Deloris, Arena, and Lori. I truly appreciate you all! Be sure to join us at the table next time.
And don’t forget to follow us on all of our social media platforms. Until next time, be safe, stay well, and stay connected. We hope you have enjoyed our first book reading and this episode as much as we have! And we are looking forward to vibing with you in our future CATT Book Club episodes. Please also feel free to share your suggestions regarding other books we can feature on our CATT Book Club Corner.
As we continue to lift self-care, we are asking you to submit nominations for a person who you believe deserves and would greatly benefit from a CATT Self-Care package as our way of saying “Your self-care matters and you matter”. We will be drawing for a free giveaway of a CATT Self-Care package, so look out for this special announcement. More information will be sent out to CATT followers soon.