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July is Minority Mental Health Month and in this episode, Melanie discusses barriers people of color face to mental health access with financial expert Kassandra Dasent. On top of that Kassandra, shares her debt repayment journey, COVID-related anxiety, suicide, and ‘The Black Tax’.
Kassandra Dasent is a financial wellness engineer and speaker. She focuses on how emotional awareness can have a direct and lasting impact on one’s relationship with money,
She was born in Trinidad, West Indies, raised in Montreal, Canada, and currently lives in Florida with her husband.
In her 20s, she had accumulated a total of CA$55,000 and paid it all off in 3.5 years. Aside from sharing her debt repayment journey, Kassandra also gave some advice on how to protect yourself during these times.
She also shares her mental health journey from attempting suicide to finding self-worth.
Today, in part because of COVID-19, Kassandra admits that she’s been taking medication for her anxiety. She shares how medication helps her and how important it is to seek help if you are suffering from mental health issues.
Kassandra also discusses ‘The Black Tax’ and the ‘golden child scenario’ and she explained how it affects GenXers today. Lastly, she points out two barriers to why most people of color do not get proper mental health treatment.
What You Will Learn From This Episode
- How you can protect your emotional and mental wellbeing during debt repayment
- What ‘The Black Tax’ and ‘golden child scenario’ are and how they affect GenXers today
- What to do if you’re struggling with anxiety and depression due to COVID-19
- How medication for mental health issues can save lives
- What to consider when choosing/seeking a therapist
“During the debt repayment period, I didn’t let my life stop. But I also really understood that I need to heal. I need to heal from many points of view and it was not just about the numbers. Far beyond the numbers.” – Kassandra Dasent
“Don’t allow people to tell you that you should be strong enough to do this on your own. Don’t feel the shame that you have to have help in order to regain your soul.” – Kassandra Dasent
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Timestamps
3:20 – Kassandra’s CA$55,000 debt, how it affected her mental health and her journey to debt repayment
7:37 – The shame factor of debt and the important thing to consider during debt repayment
13:15 – Why she had mental health issues even after paying her debt
15:15 – What is ‘The Black Tax’ – its causes and symptoms and how it differs to what Kassandra called today as the ‘golden child scenario’
21:25 – The cause of Kassandra’s anxiety and the medication she’s taking plus what a personal finance education should encompass to help with different people’s life story
23:50 – Advice for people experiencing mental health issues due to the pandemic and other factors
26:10 – Why Kassandra resisted medication at first and why it’s okay to seek help and medicate
28:48 – How medication helps Kassandra and Melanie
31:22 – Why Kassandra attempted suicide and her mental health journey to finding self-worth
38:40 – The two mental health barriers for people of color
43:30 – What to consider in choosing your mental health provider/therapist
44:40 – How COVID-19 affected her personal finances and mental health
50:47 – A sample of a song that she wrote for her first album “The Road to Rebellion”
People Mentioned:
Resources:
- The Black Tax – The Cost of Being Black in America by Shawn Rochester
- Journey to Launch Podcast
- Road to Rebellion
Connect with Kassandra
Connect with Melanie
- mentalhealthandwealth.com
- melanielockert.com
- Contact: mentalhealthandwealthshow@gmail.com
