Requiem For Njeri

Mental illnesses, such as clinical depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, etc., are some of the most misunderstood of all diseases. The triumvirate of fear, ignorance, and superstition, especially, as it pertains to Africans and other people of color not only exacerbate problems for peoples struggling with horrible and insidious maladies but make it harder for them and their families to seek help. What many of us forget is that the brain, like any other organ of the body, is susceptible to disease. We rarely think twice about naming an illness afflicting us or our kin—cancer, diabetes, heart failure, etc.—but, God forbid, if that sickness involves our brain! Yet, mental illness is as pervasive worldwide as some of these other diseases.