Dealing with discrimination? Mental health suffering? Let's make the time to talk.

COMMUNITY / Voices / BLACK EYE

Dealing with discrimination? Mental health suffering? Let’s make the time to talk.

A space to talk: While some people are able to find communities on social media to discuss the stress that comes with living in a foreign land, other people may be more comfortable speaking anonymously to a professional. Whatever the case, it’s important to know that you don’t have to suffer alone. | GETTY IMAGES

By Baye McNeil and Mark Bookman
Contributing writers

Jul 5, 2021

When I recently read the news about tennis star Naomi Osaka’s struggle with mental health issues, her bouts with depression in particular, I could immediately relate.

I bet all of us can now relate a little, especially during this ongoing pandemic. However, there’s an added dimension related to being visibly non-Japanese in Japan — or a person of color in a majority white society in the West — that can make the struggle a bit more intense.

I’m sure the situation is similar for other people facing discrimination, whether it’s women, those who identify as LBGTQIA, those with a disability or people in more than one of those categories.