The Other Side Podcast: Achea Redd Talks about Stigma of Mental Health in Black Community

A few weeks ago, Achea sat down with Columbus Dispatch staffers Lucas Sullivan and Scot Kirk, co-hosts of The Other Side podcast—a podcast dedicated to discussing important cultural and social issues related to race, gender and equality. In the episode, Achea shares her personal struggles with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, and how her own experiences led to Real Girls F.A.R.T. Achea also talks about how being an NBA wife actually exacerbated her illness and why she's glad her son is a "momma's boy."

Kicking off the episode, Sullivan and Kirk inquire about the name Real Girls F.A.R.T. and its potential to be taken less seriously due to its taboo, albeit powerful, acronym.

“Yeah, I mean that used to be a concern. In fact, it’s happened. When I first came out on Facebook with Real Girls F.A.R.T., it did happen. But I think that once they actually looked at the content, [their questions] helped the discussion.”

As Achea continues to shed light on her story—her years-long journey of accepting herself and her illness—the discussion turns to the stigma of mental health in the black community.

“A lot of times when it comes to mental healthcare in the black community, I think there’s a stigma that you only go see a psychologist when you’re, like, crazy. If you’re depressed, you just get over it.”

Achea, agreeing with the co-host’s recognition of the stigma, talks about her own struggle with accepting treatment for her Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

“I was apprehensive because of the stigma associated with medication. I thought that people who have schizophrenia or bipolar take medication. Also, I like to think I’m sort of health conscious, so what is that doing long-term to my organs? Am I going to have problems in the future? But I had to weigh the risk and the benefit.”

Want to hear more? You can listen to the full episode here. Let us know what you think in the comments!

Happy listening!