“Just fighting my way through…”: four narratives on what it means to be Black, male, and depressed

ABSTRACT

Little is known about the illness, help-seeking, and service-use experiences of Black/African American men with depression. This study presents and explores the narratives of four Black men with depression to both highlight the voice of Black/African American men in mental health research and better understand how Black/African American men understand depression, experience symptoms, and engage in help-seeking. The influence of cultural beliefs on these experiences is also discussed. A thematic analysis was performed to detect threads across experiences. Catalysts for depression episodes included loss and financial difficulties. Depression began in childhood, went unrecognized, and was managed early on through alcohol and drugs. Respondents also saw their experiences as “different” from other men. Findings from this study can inform interventions designed to improve the mental health of Black/African American men.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• Black men
• help-seeking behavior
• illness experiences
• qualitative narratives

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.