Stress and African Americans: A Daily Devotion
By Dr. Tracy Scott
A little knowledge about stress and its effect on health benefits everyone. It is estimated by the American Institute of Stress, that 75% to 90% of all doctor’s visits are caused by reactions to stress.
Stress poses a profound difficulty for everyone. But more black men die from heart attacks associated with stress than any other ethnic group in the United States.
- 50% of African Americans who suffer from the “blues” or depression do not seek help
- 88% of women and 69% of men will get headaches and stress is the number one cause
- Stress is the number one health problem facing African Americans. 35% of African American men compared to 25% of other ethnic groups are affected by hypertension (high blood pressure)
- 1 out of every 9 women who seek care in the emergency rooms is there because of injuries resulting from domestic violence. There is evidence to support that neighborhood crime is rooted in unhealthy stress
- Stoke is identified as being 67% higher in African American men than other ethnic groups and 88% more blacks are more likely to die from a stroke than whites
The everyday struggle of dealing with prejudice also contributes to the high and potentially deadly levels of stress in the African American community. With the challenges of poverty, discrimination, injustice, poor choices, etc., the quality of life for African Americans both male and female encourages an ongoing and constant schizophrenic mind set of anger and assimilation that many experts believe is a primary reason for the increased death rates among the African Americans.
Suggested Stress Checklist for African Americans
- Being out of work for a month or longer
- Having a serious illness or accident
- Not having enough money for food, clothing, housing, or other necessities of life
- Being concerned with getting credit
- Having a problem with getting things repaired around the house
- Having a check arrive late or lost in the mail
- Having something stolen or having the house or car broken into
- Having a violent argument with a friend or relative
- Having some other kind of trouble with family members
- Being concerned about living in an unsafe area
- Living with racism (Patrick Romano, 1990)
Daily Devotion
Sunday: Read and meditate on Matthew 11:28
Monday: Learn to realize that all stress is not bad. Read John 16: 19-28 and Isaiah 55:1-3
Tuesday: Strive to be patient with yourself. Read Romans 12:12 and II Timothy
Wednesday: Change your faulty beliefs. Read Matthew 6: 25-34. Remember 40% of the
things people worry about never happen
Thursday: Learn to relax. Read Psalms 23&123 and Hebrews 4:4 over and over again
while listening to Christian/Gospel music at least 15-20 minutes a day
Friday: Take a grace inventory. Remind yourself of what God has done in your life.
Read Philippians 1:6, 4:4; 4:6 and 4:19
Saturday: Develop a sense of humor. Learn to control what you can and what you cannot. Read Proverbs 31:25; Psalms 37:13 and II Corinthians 7:4
For more information about Healthy Living Seminars, visit us on the web at www.healthylivingseminars.org or call us 1-888-805-6616
[...] Polmear wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt Stress and African Americans: A Daily Devotion By Dr. Tracy Scott A little knowledge about stress and its effect on health benefits everyone. It is estimated by the American Institute of Stress, that 75% to 90% of all doctor’s visits are caused by reactions to stress. Stress poses a profound difficulty for everyone. But more black men die from heart attacks associated with stress than any other ethnic group in the United States. 50% of African Americans who suffer from the “blue [...]
By: Credit Crunch » Stress and African Americans: A Daily Devotion on July 25, 2008
at 9:25 pm
I can see how things can be more stressful for African-American men. Everyone is succeptible to stress. Our lives are full of stress in that we live in
America and the pressure of just living the so-called American dream is bad enough. No one can really define the American dream anymore, anyway. But racism does still exist and life is more difficult for African-Americans than it is for white people, all things being equal. But life is what is made of it. We all have our challenges. The important thing is to lean on God to make it through life’s difficulties.
By: Making Christian Disciples on September 20, 2011
at 12:39 am
Hi,
Thanks much for your comments and for your focus on Christ. Yes, we all need the Lord and we must all rely upon Him for our strenght and help to make it through any challenge. However, we must also be careful not to encourage others to believe that we live in a “just world”. We must remember that the “Just World” phenomenon is a myth and is not reality. The impact of stress upon African Americans is real and lives are being destroyed daily. While we may agrue our private understandings or beliefs about the impact of stress, we can not argue the facts. There are tragic evils that exist today and we need God to have mercy on all of us (Rom. 11:32).
For more information about Dr. Tracy Scott please visit http://www.soulfeed.org
By: tscott07 on September 20, 2011
at 1:37 am