And we wonder why we are drowning...

...in burnout, in stress, in depression, in fear...

I am going to make a bold statement: our society is to blame for our burgeoning mental health crisis.

Society is a palatable way to say American society. 

American society is a palatable way to say White Supremacy. 

Let’s make that bold statement again: White Supremacy is to blame for our burgeoning mental health crisis.

Many people will read this and assume I am blaming white people for the mental health crisis in this country. No, not even close. I am blaming white supremacy. A system created to ensure the supremacy of not just white people, but whiteness, and the religion of anti-blackness that shapes every corner of society. The virus of white supremacy is the foundation our society was built on and with each passing day, the virus multiplies exponentially, infecting and re-infecting every inch of society and culture. White supremacy controls every sub-system created in this society that sits underneath white supremacy’s dominance. White supremacy controls our education system, our economy, our healthcare system, our policies, our politics, our workplaces, our parenting, our beliefs about diet and body image, our idea of success, and our desperate need to be perfect. White supremacy controls our legal system, our policing system, the rights we have as citizens of this country, and our autonomy over our bodies. 

White supremacy controls our freedom.

I told you — bold statement. And, many, many will scoff at this bold statement. Doesn't saying a system controls everything imply that individuals responsible for harm bear no fault? To state that a system controls all relieves the individual from any personal responsibility for his or her life, no? Actually, no. It doesn’t mean this at all. As inhabitants of the society and culture in which we were brought into, we are the automatic byproducts of said society and culture. This doesn’t absolve all personal responsibility, or mean that one cannot realize belief systems that go along with the status quo of society aren’t harmful and make changes. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many out there who deliberately choose to march to the beat of their own drums rather than fall right in line with the automated assembly line that is our society. And this certainly doesn’t mean that we should throw our hands in the air in total defeat as if we are puppets to society. You are most certainly not a puppet. You are a human. Our society does not want you to believe that you are a human, but you are. A beautiful one at that. Keep that in mind.

We are not absolved of all personal responsibility in our lives, but to believe that every single thought, action, belief, or circumstance is completely in the hands of the individual and not at all dependent on the systems and culture within society at large is proof that the system is working as intended. 

White supremacy has controlled every systemic decision, rhetoric, and messaging that has been made within this society since its founding. Which houses can we occupy and in what zip code? What schools do our children attend as a result of that zip code? White supremacy made those decisions. Which schools have adequate funding and which do not? White supremacy made that decision. Your likelihood of being seen by society as someone who is “worthy” based on your educational background? White supremacy made that decision. This is just one example of many, of course. I could go on. In fact, I did go on. I wrote a book about it. You can check that out here if you want a deep dive into all of the ways white supremacy has infiltrated our society and how it has a direct tie to how you view your sense of self. Chapter Four is about the education system.

White supremacy made the decisions that set the foundation for our society (i.e. the social hierarchy based on race, class, gender, and more) and continues to make every societal and cultural decision that impacts us much more than we probably realize. I believe it is the reason most of us are drowning. I would say ‘all,’ but I don’t believe in speaking in absolutes. However, I do believe it is close to all of us drowning. Many of us don’t realize that we are drowning, because drowning has become a state of normalcy.

The drowning is everywhere. 

The drowning shows itself when you log onto social media, immediately inundated with negative post after negative post, specifically posts created to nitpick, tear down, and dehumanize everyone we can get our claws on to do so. I look at the comment sections of most posts, and my heart sinks at the reality of how miserable we have all become. We will do anything to come after the joy of another human. We annihilate people’s bodies, we write think pieces tearing down public figures, and we cavil every influencer’s move. We have the audacity to spread hatred about student protestors who are risking their lives to fight for a ceasefire in Gaza because, in the year 2024, genocide is still seen as controversial. 

We are drowning in our misery and projecting it onto everyone crossing our path. 

The drowning shows itself when you look at the weariness in your neighbor’s eyes as you cross paths during your morning walk. The drowning shows itself when you sit down to coffee with a friend and she reveals how depressed she has been. It shows itself when you overhear a conversation in the grocery store between friends and one of them is fearful because he still cannot find a job after a year of searching. It shows itself when you have to make difficult choices about your grocery cart because prices have soared yet again. 

The panic attack you have after work because anxiety has robbed you of your sleep for the past week, the results you received from the blood work you had drawn last week and the panic about how you will pay the impending bill, and the fear that creeps in as you send your kids to school each morning wondering if they are truly safe. 

The drowning is everywhere. 

How is this connected to white supremacy? Well, let’s peel back the layers of the onion without writing an entirely new book, shall we? 

Most of us are miserable because our society has made us miserable. We are fighting tooth and nail for our liberties and rights as humans to be honored, daily, and the more we fight, the more those rights are removed from our grasp. Our incomes do not match our costs of living. It is estimated that 78% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck with 11.5 percent living in poverty. Income inequality has only continued to widen, and that is not by happenstance or coincidence. Healthcare is still not universal — the U.S. Health System ranks dead last out of 11 developed nations. Americans are still fighting for paid family leave, universal childcare, universal pre-kindergarten, gun restrictions and/or abolishment, guaranteed safe public schools, and adequate and equitable funding for schools, just to name a few. The instability of the economy continues to lead to job insecurity and the pressure to have multiple streams of income just to ensure stability. I could go on, but I can feel myself veering from writing an article to writing another book so I’m going to save the rest for the next one. 

Nothing I just stated should be a surprise to you. We are living this daily. We know we are miserable and we know that our society is not for the people but for the profit. However, most of us do not make the connection to what I stated above, and the other inequities and stressors of our society to white supremacy. We often chalk it up to capitalism and corporate greed and leave it there. Some of us chalk it up to isolated economic incidents, like the pandemic, but don’t see the connection between today’s incidents and yesterday’s systemic decisions. We don’t realize that America created the economy it created to uphold white supremacy. America created its healthcare policies to uphold white supremacy. America created its education system to uphold white supremacy. America created its family leave and childcare policies to uphold white supremacy. The foundation of our society: the free market capitalism, the housing, the educational policies, the way we practice healthcare, who receives what benefits and who doesn’t, was built to create and uphold a supremacy of elite cis-gendered, able-bodied whiteness. These foundational systems have built off of each other and become our norm. It has created a culture of people who believe that fighting for your right to exist, live, survive, and have access to your human rights is the way it should be. An article that states the contrary is controversial. A society that believes in all people having undeniable access to their human rights is considered part of a “woke agenda” rather than basic human decency. 

No wonder we are drowning.

No wonder our mental health and suicide rates are at an all-time high. No wonder our children are in a depression and anxiety crisis. No wonder we are suffering from severe burnout, our adrenals are shot, and our stress levels are so high that we are in a permanent state of fight, flight, or freeze. As I stated in my book, “Society’s warning lights are worn out from flashing.”

So, yes. I make the bold statement: White Supremacy is to blame for our burgeoning mental health crisis.

We don’t deserve to drown anymore. But, we cannot stop the drowning by merely trying to pull ourselves out of the water and hope for the best. We must drain the water. We must dismantle the foundation of white supremacy that controls our freedom.