Stress Management Book for Black People

Is there a need for a stress management book for black people?

There are plenty of books on stress management.  They should be good enough for everyone no matter what color right?  Stress is stress and how to reduce the negative effects should be the same for everyone, you would think.

There are a lot of differences in our backgrounds, cultures, experiences, and environments.  Some of these have nothing to do with the color of our skin and some do.

Some of the sources of stress for black people are the same as they are for other races.  Some of them are very different.  For people who are not black it is often hard to understand those stresses that seem to be unique to the race.  Some of the stressors are relatively small like other people being obviously uncomfortable getting on an elevator with you.  Others are much bigger like being racially profiled and being stopped for driving while black, being arrested, or shot unjustly.   Black people also are stressed due to discrimination related to education, employment, banking, and housing.

Not only are the sources of stress often different, the negative effects may also be more dangerous for black people.  The average book about stress doesn’t address these issues.

An example of a subtle educational source of stress is that most of the history taught about black people starts with slavery.  What a downer!  Black people are taught that they were stolen from Africa and placed into slavery.  Finally due to the kindness of some nice white people including Abraham Lincoln they were freed.  This does nothing good for self-esteem.  People from other cultures are often taught much more positive things about the history of their people.  They are usually taught about what their ancestors did in the countries they came from and why they came to America.  For black people there seems to be no history before slavery except that our ancestors came from Africa.  Even the way Africa is portrayed is negative.  We were fed images of jungles and savages with no organization or civilization.  Africa is talked about as though it is a single country when it is a continent made up of more than 50 countries today.  There is so much more for black students to learn about Africa, the specific countries, the history, people, inventors, scholars civilizations, etc. that would improve the self-confidence and self-worth of black people.  Not having that information is a source of stress.  Looking at other people and learning positive things about their history and cultures but not your own can make you feel less than other people.  There is no surprise that many people believe that this is all by design.  Books like The Mis-education of the Negro by Carter G. Woodson discuss this.

It is important for black people to address and manage their stress because we are more susceptible to some of the illnesses that are thought to be stress related like hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes.  A book directly dealing with the unique sources and results of stress and ways to address them in a way that is culturally sensitive and effective way by black people and for black people is needed.  There may be some already and I think there is room for another one.  I have work to do.

Harry L. Campbell

914-762-4646 – Harry@biofeedbackinternational.com

Author of What Stress Can Do, Available on Amazon.com, Youtube.com

Biofeedback Resources International Corp.