How Race is Affecting An Individual’s Battle With Bipolar Disorder
Srinidhi Vangala – Bipolar disorder — a mental health condition characterized by periods of extreme highs (mania) and deep lows (depression) — affects 2.8 percent of U.S. adults. While marginalized racial and ethnic communities, such as Black and Hispanic-Latinx people, are no less likely to experience bipolar disorder than white people. Unlike white communities, research shows that these marginalized communities are not adequately diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder. According to an article published in September 2018 in Bipolar Disorders, people of African descent with bipolar disorder are more likely to receive an incorrect diagnosis than people of European ancestry with the condition. And, Hispanic people with bipolar disorder are less likely to get the treatment they need than white people with the condition, per a small study published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities.
The consequences of improperly diagnosed and treated bipolar disorder can include worsening bipolar symptoms or even suicide, say experts at Sierra by the Sea, a residential mental health treatment center in Newport Beach, California.
These disparities have many cultural and societal causes, likely requiring multifaceted solutions. Black people with bipolar disorder are more often misdiagnosed with other conditions than white people. According to the aforementioned article published in September 2018 in Bipolar Disorders, one of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions ones, schizophrenia. This paper further detailed the factors that may drive these disparities –racism, discrimination, poverty, mistrust of the U.S. health system, and difficulty accessing health services, among others.
“Misdiagnosis is serious and can lead to individuals being prescribed the wrong psychiatric medication, which can cause many health complications,” says Ernesto Lira de la Rosa, Ph.D., a psychologist in private practice in New York City, and a media advisor for the Hope for Depression Research Foundation.
In the United States, people of color tend not to seek the help they need from the healthcare system. Over time, systemic racism — racism embedded in societal systems and structures that reinforce inequalities and oppression on an institutional level — in the health system has caused mistrust among marginalized racial and ethnic communities, making them less likely to seek the care they need. One well-known example is the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Syphilis Study at Tuskegee, in which 399 African American men who had syphilis were denied treatment on purpose. This mistrust has infiltrated every aspect of seeking care from the U.S. health system among communities of color, and care for bipolar disorder is no exception. Out of 163 people with bipolar 1 or 2 disorder, none of the 26 Hispanic participants were taking mood-stabilizing medication, a crucial component of treatment, compared to 21 percent of non-Hispanic white participants, according to the aforementioned study published in April 2016 in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities. What’s more, Hispanic people with bipolar disorder were less likely to see a mental health professional for manic episodes or go to talk therapy than non-Hispanic white people, the study showed.
While research that raises awareness of racial and ethnic disparities in mental health care is important, experts say that calls for change will be fruitless unless professionals address systemic racism. In the meantime, there are many resources to help people find psychiatrists and psychologists of color if they prefer to work with a mental health professional with a similar background to them. Some are listed here:
- Black Emotional and Mental Health Collective
- Inclusive Therapists
- Psychology Today Directory of African American Therapists
- Therapy for Black Girls
- Therapy for Black Men
Copy editor – Ruchi Shah