Women Breaking Barriers: Dr. Nadia Richardson reducing mental health stigma through her own journey

GET LOCAL BREAKING NEWS ALERTS

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

Dr. Nadia Richardson is leading the way in reducing the stigma of mental illness through research and transparency about her own mental health journey.

"I love being transparent because I know what my journey looks like,” said Richardson. “I know what the barriers were for me. And I want to make sure that through this organization and the work that we're doing, we remove some of those barriers for others."

Richardson is the founder and CEO of the Black Women's Mental Health Institute in Birmingham. The national non-profit organization is dedicated to building awareness and support for the mental well-being of Black women and girls. It is available for women whose struggles are apparent as well those who seem to have it all together. Women like Richardson.

“I am known as a professor and advocate. I do public speaking. I do diversity consulting work,” she said. “And so, there is this idea that I am thriving in all aspects of my life and that that is what is informing the work. But really, what's informing the work and what really led to even the development of this organization was I needed a community of support that I couldn't find for myself.”

The University of Alabama at Birmingham graduate and former UAB professor, who earned her master's and doctorate degrees through the University of Alabama, is well versed in the lingo and the data, but more importantly, she knows what it means to live with a mental disorder.

"Because my interest and passion for this is not just based on my academic understanding of mental health; I have no problem letting individuals know that I am a woman who is managing high functioning, rapid cycling, bipolar two,” said Richardson “Because as soon as you say it, it gives other people permission to feel comfortable acknowledging what they're managing and getting the support that they need for it.”

But that level of comfort did not come immediately.
“It was hard for me to acknowledge when something was going wrong. I just knew that there were times I was isolated right? So, as a college student, I knew there were days I just did not go to class, and days where I felt so fatigued. I just did not get out of the bed. I was gripped with so much sadness that I did not understand it but would rely on my faith.”

Her diagnosis did not come immediately either.

"If you're high functioning, and you're a Black woman, statistically, you're not diagnosed until later in life,” she said. “Because any mood swings, any difficulties with focus, any of those things are attributed to your identity. To your personality. 'Oh, that's just how Nadia is.' 'Oh, that's just how this person is' and you start to believe that yourself, you start thinking, 'Oh, well, I just need to work harder. I need to focus harder,” Richardson said.

It was not until her 30s that she got the treatment she needed. And she first found the community of support she needed back in 2015 via a Facebook page called No More Martyrs. It is a reference to Black feminist thought about women being socialized to serve the needs of everyone in their communities except themselves. The support group was rebranded as a small but thriving space in a Birmingham office complex that houses the Black Women's Mental Health Institute.

"We're now providing services to 22 cities and nine counties throughout the state of Alabama and averaging about 200 hours of free counseling a month,” she said. “And it continues to grow. And that is massive for us. And people are really taking notice of it.”

She says the pandemic threw the entire world into a mental health crisis, forcing people to examine their coping skills.

“I feel like we're seeing is that people have a better understanding of what they need to maintain their mental health,” she said. “They have a better understanding of what the difference is between mental health and mental illness. And they also have a better understanding of what life balance might look like and how that can impact their wellness.”

As for her own wellness, the soon-to-be-married proud “girl mom” relies on treatment, her faith, a supportive mother and knowing she is part of a movement to help women become whole.