BIPOC Life Group Introduction
Intro, BIPOC Healing Community: Nature, Ancestral-Indigenous Wisdoms, Health/Wellbeing, & Liberation
Black, Indigenous, & People of Color/BIPOC Sacred Space
Tuesday, September 24th; 5:00 – 6:00 pm PT/8:00 – 9:00 pm ET
Online (Zoom), Register
In October 2019, the Center for Disease Control indicated that six in ten adults in the US have a chronic disease and four in ten adults have two or more.
The 10 most common chronic health conditions (2018) and the National Health Impact percentage:
- Hypertension, 12.5%
- Major Depression, 9%
- High Cholesterol, 8.6%
- Coronary Artery Disease, 7%
- Type 2 Diabetes, 5.5%
- Substance Use Disorder, 3.4%
- Alcohol Use Disorder, 3.3%
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), 3.3%
- Psychotic Disorder, 2.9%
- Crohn’s Disease/Ulcerative Colitis, 2.7%
Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) are 1.5 to 2.0 times more likely than white people to develop many of the major chronic health conditions. Diabetes, lung diseases, and serious heart conditions have been particularly relevant to COVID-19 risk (Price, J.H., Khubchandani, J., McKinney, M., & Braun, R., 2013). A 2020 study by John Hopkins found that chronic stress can weaken immunity, making BIPOC communities more vulnerable to diseases like COVID-19 (and the underlying health conditions that increase the risk of COVID-19). Daily life stressors and oppressive experiences of income disparity, inequality, injustice, prejudice, discrimination, violence, and systemic racism as well as cultural and ancestral-transgenerational trauma further contribute to the chronic stress load.
Oppression & Systemic Racism: Chronic Stress, Emotional Pain, & Trauma
The past year has made it more crucial than ever to heal from oppression! The work to eradicate systemic racism and other oppressive structures is multilevel across local and global institutions, governments, society, and personal beliefs and actions. This talk provides an overview of how oppression disrupts physiological functioning and immunity contributing to chronic health conditions and weakened immunity. Simple, natural and ancestral-indigenous ways will be offered to help strengthen the mind-body spirit and build our immunity. There also will be time for Q&A.
The upcoming life group helps to heal emotional pain and trauma (personal, ancestral, transgenerational, community, and cultural) to improve health and wellbeing, manage chronic health conditions, strengthen immunity, and optimize quality of life. Trying to heal pain on our own without sufficient support can be difficult; especially, when experiencing intense or overwhelming emotion. Resources are provided to cleanse oppressive experiences and socialization, emotional wounding/pain, and trauma as well as to navigate challenges related to others’ unsupportive beliefs and judgment. Contact us to learn more about BIPOC Healing from Oppression and the online life group.