May 13, 2015 - 3BThe Chronicle

HEALTH & WELLNESSHEALTH & WELLNESSwww.charlestonchronicle.net

Depression, Black Superwoman Syndrome, and Suicideby Shantella Y. ShermanSpecial to the NNPA from the

Afro-American Newspaper

She was the founder of ForBrown Girls and, later, the#DarkSkinRedLip Project, aswell as several online movementscelebrating dark-skinned Blackwomen. By all accounts, she wasa spirited, beautiful, trooper whoinspired millions of womenaround the world to embracetheir natural, God-given beauty.So when Karyn Washington’sdeath, at 22, was reported as asuicide, disbelief, fear, and angerspread through social media cir-cles like a wildfire.

Fellow blogger ChristelynKarazin lamented the loss as anindictment of the Black commu-nity and its Black SuperwomanSchema that promotes seekingprayer over medical intervention.“You feel shame when you feelyour mind is breaking. There isno safe place. To admit to anymental frailty is to invite scornand mockery, accusations of act-ing White. Because only Whitepeople suffer from depression.Only White people commit sui-cide. Black women are strong.Black women are not human.And this is a LIE,” Karazincharged.

Titi Cree Branch, the alwayssmiling 45-year-old co-founder ofMiss Jessie’s Curly Hair Prod-ucts, reportedly ended her life,and the nation began to takenote. Depression is real.African-American women,though referred to using descrip-

tors such as “strong,” “long suffer-ing,” and even “angry,” are moreoften masking overwhelmingfeelings of frustration, hopeless-ness, and fear.

A growing body of literatureindicates that African-Americanwomen rely on religious beliefsand practices to cope with healthproblems including depression,with roughly 90.4 percent re-porting their faith as a means ofmanaging stressors. Addition-ally, researchers found that thelow use of mental health servicesamong Black women was cou-pled with high rates of prema-ture termination fromcounseling.

Prayer and religion are oftencited as primary coping skillsused by African-Americanwomen in dealing with personalproblems and in comparisonwith Caucasians, African-Amer-icans are far more likely to en-dorse the use of prayer andspiritual coping strategies over

professional or medicinal thera-pies. But what happens whenfaith wavers?

In the case of Monica Deen*,weakened faith and an unwilling-ness to admit her issues tochurch elders – including her in-ability to cope – caused her tospiral almost out of control forseveral years. “Some issues donot belong in church – that’swhat I felt,” said Deen, whofound herself caught in an extra-marital affair with her supervisor.“This relationship was tied to myown lack of self-esteem, whichmade me feel like I could not endit. I felt it would jeopardize myjob and family if I did the rightthing and ended it. But therewas no way I would tell thechurch and I felt like God wouldnot forgive me.”

In addition to the emotionalturmoil Deen felt, she spent fouryears managing hypertensionand bulimia as a result of the af-fair. The day she felt over-whelmed enough to plot herown death, Deen said, she foundenough courage to confess to herhusband. “I stood in front of himshaking like a leaf and crying hys-terically. Thank God he hadenough compassion to sign meinto a clinic,” Deen said. “I begantalking about all of the thingsthat I couldn’t tell anyone and theguilt and depression lifted.Everyday I acknowledge that Iam only human and I give myself

by Ajoya LongSpecial to the NNPA from

the Afro-American Newspaper

Consumption of an Africandiet for only two weeks may re-duce the risk of colon cancer,according to a University ofPittsburgh study published inNature Communications.

Researchers selected 20African Americans in Pitts-burgh and 20 rural SouthAfricans to switch diets for twoweeks.

The Americans ate anAfrican diet high in fiber andlow in fat with plenty of fruitsand vegetables and little meat.The Africans consumed the av-erage Western diet – a diet richin fat and dairy.

After the study concluded,the researchers performedcolonoscopies on the partici-pants. The researchers discov-ered that the AfricanAmericans who consumed thetraditional African diet had re-duced inflammation in thecolon and increased produc-tion of butyrate, a fatty acidthat may protect against colon

cancer.

“If you can increase theamount of (butyrate), you canoverride the carcinogenic ef-fects of fat and meat,” said leadauthor Dr. Stephen J.D. O’-Keefe, a physician in the Divi-sion of Gastroenterology,Hepatology and Nutrition atthe Pittsburgh School of Med-icine.

In contrast, the Africans whoate the Western diet showedchanges in gut bacteria thatraises the risk of colon cancer.

“Our best hope is that it willopen eyes to other possibilities,and point to the fact that ahigh-fiber diet is not difficult tofollow and is well tolerated,”O’Keefe said.

Colon cancer is diagnosed in150,000 Americans annually;African Americans are dispro-portionately affected. The dis-parity is particularly acutewhen compared to Blacks onthe continent—65 per 100,000Black Americans are diag-nosed with colon cancer versus5 per 100,000 Africans.

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Risk of Colon Cancer

A rap to the bladderBy Dr. Gerald Deas

Just below your navel is thearea where the bladder lies inter-nally. Tenderness in this area canoften signal that a bladder infec-tion may be in progress. Thebladder is, of course, the storagespace for urine, which is derivedfrom both kidneys. When thebladder is full, it receives nerveimpulses that give you a feeling ofurgency, leading to evacuation.

The bladder in females can be-come easily infected because ofits outlet, the urethra, being inclose proximity to the rectum. Itis important when wiping therectum after a bowel movementthat the stroke be away from theurethra, preventing infection ofthe outlet to the bladder. Bladderinfections can also be caused byflushing the toilet while still sit-ting after a bowel movement.Males do not experience bladderinfections as frequently becauseof the length of the urethra.

Bladder infections cause symp-toms such as urinary frequency,burning on urination and oftenblood in the urine. Blood in theurine should be investigated torule out tumors that may occur inthe bladder or kidney. Infectionsof the bladder can be preventedby taking adequate amounts ofwater during the day (six to eightglasses). Cranberry juice also canmaintain a healthy, functioningbladder. Not to waste all of thisinformation, I present it to you bythe following:

What’s the matter, bladder?It seems that things aren’t right.You’re not letting me get my restI’m urinating both day and night.I know that you’re getting olderAnd your last nerve is on the lin

But you just have to get hold of yourself

When I try to go out and dine.You’re making me get up

three times at nightAnd often in a darkened room

I’ve stubbed my toe on the edge of the bed

And holding back, the flow was doomed

How can I make peace with you?

When you’re a diabetic, one ofthe biggest tasks and challengesyou face on a day-to-day basis iskeeping your blood glucose lev-els under control. When yourglucose levels are controlled, allis well. But, when they’re not,that’s when you start havingproblems. One-third of all dia-betics will develop a skin infec-tion at some point during theirlives.

“The biggest issue with dia-betes is that when your sugar isnot controlled, it affects thebody’s small vessels, makingthem narrow or clot off alto-gether,” explains Dr. MarkCarter, who practices internalmedicine in Phoenix, Arizonaand has reversed diabetes inmany of his patients.

“The vessels that feed the skinare small so when someone’ssugar is not controlled, they startgetting poor blood flow to theskin. The nerves can develop‘micro-stokes,’ causing diabeticneuropathy.”

Those who’ve had diabetes for20 years or more or have type 2

diabetes are more likely to de-velop diabetic neuropathy.That’s why it’s so important tosee your doctor routinely, prefer-ably every three to six months.He or she will thoroughly in-spect your feet for sores and cuts,

but also be sure to let him or herknow if you feel any pain, tin-gling and/or numbness.

Other common diabetes-re-lated skin complications includesclerodema diabeticorum, dia-betic blisters, fungal infections,

Caring For Your Skin With Diabetesvitiligo, digital sclerosis anderuptive xanthomatosis.

The good news is that thereare several precautions you cantake to help prevent any of thesecomplications from happeningto you. Dr. Carter recommendsinspecting your hands and feetdaily, keeping your hands andfeet clean and moisturized –Gold Bond Ultimate is a well-trusted skincare brand specifi-cally formulated for diabetics –and last but not least, wearingcotton socks to help keep thesweat to a minimum.

“Having great glucose control[helps to prevent] a lot of compli-cations,” Dr. Carter adds. “I’veseen many people reverse theirdiabetes with diet and exerciseand not require any medications.In addition to seeing their med-ical doctor, patients with dia-betes should see anophthalmologist yearly for an eyeexam, as well as a podiatrist forfoot exams.”

You know I love coffee and wineI’m aware that caffeine and alcohol irritate youBut you’re gonna have to give me some time

I know how to calm you downWith a new drug

that’s right on handBut I can also help

by doing other thingsI’m sure that you understandYou may be getting infected

By a host of other thingsI no longer flush while sitting

Because I know what that can bring

I drink at least six glasses of water daily

With concentrated cranberry juice in betweenI’m only trying to help you

To resist infections that can be mean

I’m aware that the muscles on my pelvic floor

Have become weak with aging and timeI’ve been doing those

pelvic exercisesI’m sure they will strengthen

and be more kindI’ve even gotten my

prostate gland checkedTo see if it was squeezing too tight

But the size was normal and the PSA was down

The doc said everything was alrightI hope that we can come together

And respect each other’s needsBecause you certainly

know that you need meAnd I’m sure I need you indeed.

leeway to make mistakes and re-cover from them.” Researchers,including Cheryl L. Woods-Gis-combe, have suggested thathealth disparities in African-American women, includingDeen’s hypertension, adversebirth outcomes, lupus, obesity,and untreated depression, can beexplained by stress and coping.The Strong Black Woman / Su-perwoman role has been high-lighted as a phenomenoninfluencing African-Americanwomen’s experiences and reportsof stress.

“Cultural and psychologicalfactors of the Superwoman role,such as focusing on the needs ofothers and making personalhealth a secondary or tertiary pri-ority, might explain delays inhealth-seeking behaviors, limitedadherence to recommendationsmade by health care profession-als, and lower rates of screeningprocedures for conditions thatare treatable if caught in the earlystages,” Woods-Giscombe con-cluded.

Participants’ characterizationsof the Superwoman role weregrouped into five major topicareas: obligation to manifeststrength, obligation to suppressemotions, resistance to being vul-nerable or dependent, determi-nation to succeed despite limitedresources, and obligation to helpothers. Woods-Giscombe maderecommendations that physi-cians utilize a culture-centeredmethodology in order to betterunderstand the emotional needsof Black female patients. Thismay include more aggressive at-tempts to bridge the church withtreatment for depression.

“Health care practitioners whoare aware of the potential influ-ence of the Superwoman role onhealth behaviors might have anenhanced ability to understandthe lived experiences of their pa-tients and the ability to integrateappropriate methods of patienteducation and counseling intotheir clinical practice,” she said.

Gerald Deas