African Americans Flashcards
What is complex PTSD?
A history of subjection to oppressive control over a prolonged period. (hostages, POW’s, Slavery)
What is intergenerational trauma?
When trauma is not resolved in one generation it will be passed to the next.
What is historical trauma?
Collective and cumulative emotional wounding across generations.
PTSS Post traumatic slave syndrome
consequence of centuries of slavery followed by institutionalized racism and oppression have resulted in multigenerational adaptive behavior, some positive reflecting resilience, and others that are harmful and destructive.
What are some of the trauma points?
Hyperghetto "war on drugs" and Prison Ghetto and Welfare Ghetto and Northern Migration Post Slavery and Jim Crow American Chattel Slavery
American Chattel Slavery
treated like property or cattle.
Breeding farms to produce more slaves
Slave family characteristics
Women act directly on behalf of the family and the community.
Family was matriarchal
Jim Crow
13th amendment abolished slavery except as punishment for crime. (one year later prisons overflowing with black inmates.)
Legally enforced segregation
Share cropping kept blacks tied to plantation
Lynchings
“great migration” and Ghetto
Leaving the farm and share cropping
Menial and industrial manufacturing jobs, segregated housing and unemployment
1919 red summer- 13 days of racial violence in Chicago
Ghetto and Welfare
welfare rules - no adult men in the home
decrease in low education industrial manufacturing jobs
Drugs, crime, and family disntegration
Hyperghetto and Prison
extreme concentration of poverty and underprivileged groups
Blacks much more likely to go to jail for drugs
Trauma Threat response
fight or flight, react, heal
Threat response interruption
dont want to feel out of control: stop ourselves (“get over it”)
Characteristics of Stuck in fight/flight or survival
cannot manage anger , fear, expect to be treated unfairly.
Characteristics of Stuck in freeze and dissociation
depressed, cannot defend oneself, withdrawal from relationships
Survival Stress management
acting or reacting without thinking about the consequences of our choices. Any means necessary to feel good right now.
Characteristics of African-American Men in the crack era
frequent trauma experiences. little to no healthy involvement in mainstream life
Characteristics of Hyper-masculinity
poor emotional regulation
high physical pain threshold
dislike women
acting out
Characteristics of Self-destructive
indirect suicide use substances homicide and glorification ion death high risk behaviors suicide by cop
African American beliefs
mental illness and trauma is weak
mistrust of health professionals
distrust in legal system
cultural mandate “dirty laundry is washed at home”
Other obstacles
institutional racism & opression
Microagressions
Lack of services
Lack of prevention and early intervention
Characteristics of Promoting healing through community
encourage participation in mental health. conduct stigma training
Characteristics of Compassionate accountability
hold you accountable and I explain why I do this and I give you information on how to change in your life
Providers/leadership
develop/support mental health intervention initiatives
educate community
reclaim narrative of resiliency
Community leadership
role model willingness to start own healing
“Healing the village”
addressing historical trauma offers a way of helping the community build from the inside out.
