Roxanne R. Flores Flores, MSW, ACSW

Sis, thus far we have discussed how stress affects the body and how to assess your levels of stress. This week, we are going to discuss 4 unique stressors that black women face: #3 Health Disparities: Black women experience higher rates of certain health conditions, such as hypertension, obesity, and maternal mortality, which can be exacerbated by stress. These health disparities are influenced by social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, and exposure to discrimination. Sis, during my pregnancy, I found myself repeatedly in and out of the hospital for various reasons. Each time, I had to fight to be heard and believed about the level of pain I was experiencing. I'll never forget the moment doctors rushed into my hospital room and tore off my clothes for an 'emergency' they anticipated. Despite my protests, they didn’t listen to the real reason I was in pain. Sis, your voice matters, and your pain is valid. If you need support processing an experience like this, please reach out to us at www.theselfinsidellc.com.

2many decades of witnessing the wounding impact of violating ideas and violence, and the lack of appropriate supports for those on the receiving end of others churlish and tyrannical criminality. Policies can often add insult to injury, where our attitudes becomes desensitised to the impacts on victims. Multiple Adversities do not necessarily translate to a life of crime. In fact, these conjoined ideas can spoil and soil and slaughter innocent people caught up in it; leaving2many shamed and invisible; to exist below the radar, and trying to survive in the aftermath of acute traumas, brought about by psychotic violence, and some victims subjected to such tyranny, can become habituated into thinking that their personal destinies actually deserve bad treatment. Conditions in the outside world are hard enough without this crap. And I know what I am talking about, experiencing and watching these insults unfurl over five decades now. They often say that up to eight people can be impacted by the violence and crimes of others, and this is not even including communities exposed to violence, and we know the mounting costs in servicing this industry are colossal. Lastly to emphasise again, surely adversities cannot be the justification for translating adversity into a life of crime. There may well be some neural signatures that lend toward forensic psychopathy, and there may be multiple peer and even family influences and traditions and contexts, combined with altering chemicals that lend credence to the inflamed states of mind. My view is if we go the circuitous direction of embedding and enabling logics of crimes, we are on a slippery slope, and maybe some regions are well and truly set up for the increases of crimes in 'developed' democracies. That is a terrible shame and heartache to go down the road of acceptance of these fates, when these forms of nefarious reasoning inveigles our normative attitudes.

Poll Time! Please comment below, yes or no, and share your experience. #DanceForAllAbilities #RepresentationMatters #DisabilityJustice #BlackDisability #DisabilityCommunity #DisabilityInclusion #BlackAndDisabled #DisabilityPride #Ableism #Accessibility . . . [Image Description: At the top in white is the "Embraced Body" logo in a circle, a heart attached to a curvy rope. Below white text reads "Have you encountered barriers or challenges in accessing dance spaces due to your identity or ability?" Below on the left reads "YES" in black text and on the right is "NO" in red text. Below in smaller white text reads "@embracedbody1." Image is on a purple background.]

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether

Comment Below!! Today’s topic: Discussing Challenges and Solutions in Black Maternal Mental Health #THECONVERSATIONCONTINUES #BMMHW2024 #BMMHS2024 #SHINETHELIGHT #MakeShiftHappenTogether