A new study has found that the world is so easy on white dudes that they just don't know what to do when negative stuff comes around -- meaning they often fall into depression when faced with tough life events.
According to the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, white men are more likely to face depression in the wake of life stress than black men or women of any other race. Which is ... super interesting seeing as how black men typically report having more stressful life events with things like poor health, financial and employment hardship, family problems, police harassment, etc. etc. etc. And the same can be said in regard to women across the board, who also reported experiencing more exposure to stress, with, surprise, black women reporting the highest number of stressful life events. A phenomenon the researchers chalked up to "post-traumatic growth," which is when a person perseveres and emerges even stronger from a traumatic experience.
"White men were experiencing the least stress in their lives," lead author Dr. Shervin Assari said. "They don't get a lot of it and they are not used to it, so they are more prone to its harmful effects."
As seemingly eye-roll-inducing the outcome of this study is, mental health, regardless of race and gender, are serious issues that shouldn't be brushed aside. It's just further proof that external support is vital to those who haven't had to develop post-traumatic coping mechanisms others have. Above all, though, make sure to remain compassionate and aware if someone you know is suffering from mental illness.
[h/tThe Huffington Post]