Shrinking federal and state resources, fears about job security, mounting costs, and simply caring for children and aging relatives are placing many Black families under tremendous emotional pressure, with some forced to make difficult day-to-day decisions surrounding basic necessities.
From those living below the poverty line to even the upper middle class, changing economics have caused a ripple effect that, for many, has become emotionally taxing.
Even for those who support others, the mental strain can be taxing.
Kiana Beekman, a creative event strategist, is skilled at creating unique life experiences that give people safe spaces to process, emote, and even laugh when life has given them little reason to do so.
Yet, the single mother admits that she is wrestling with the same uncertainty that weighs on many families: how to keep providing, planning, and showing up for others when the future feels increasingly difficult to predict.
“I feel so overwhelmed sometimes; my mind is always in motion. There are times that I don’t sleep well due to fear of the unknown,” said Beekman, 46. “A lot of people depend on me, but sometimes I don’t know where the resources are for those of us who everyone else depends on.”
The Anxiety Behind Everyday Survival
For Beekman, the mental health toll for many people of color is built from pressures that rarely arrive one at a time. Inflation makes necessities harder to afford, professional expertise does not always translate into financial security, and the expectation to care for others can leave little room to acknowledge personal distress.
“I did everything I was supposed to do; I went back to school and earned an MBA, graduated top of my class, and established a stable career,” Beekman related.
Like many, the cost of maintaining her household has steadily outpaced what her salary is able to cover.
“I make a good income, and manage finances quite well,” she said. “Yet, still it isn’t enough. I am in financial warfare.”
For many, such rapidly rising costs of living bring heightened concern to not just current, but future economic status, especially unforeseeable emergency expenses.
Shalita Lyons, advocate, understands firsthand how unexpected expenses can detonate a family’s financial infrastructure.
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer twice in 2016. The diagnosis is just part of the emotional shock,” said Lyons, 56. “Then comes wave after wave of expenses.”
A Fall 2026 study by Pew Research Center found that 53% of Americans do not have emergency funds that would cover their expenses for even three months.
Lyons advocates for minorities to learn ways to financially plan even when resources are stretched thin.
“Are you underinsured? Are there systems in place for those you provide for in the event something happens to you?” she questioned. “It might sound counterintuitive, but assessing critical areas of your finances during economic hardship is important.”
In 2019, Lyons founded She Still Smiles to help people undergoing unexpected health battles to find resources and a measure of economic relief.
“There has been a huge spike in the number of people genuinely concerned about their health because so many have lost significant health coverage and more wonder whether they will be covered at all,” Lyons said.
Building Connections to Heal
As mental health stressors continue to heighten, both Beekman and Lyons stress that human connection is one of the most essential ties to healing when life changes suddenly.
Trained in mental health, Beekman also works as a senior investigator of allegations of mental or physical abuse.
“A great deal of my job is reading people: lack of eye contact, movement, how people respond to simple touch, like a handshake,” she said. “Energy and affect always speak the things that we can’t or won’t say.”
The mental health professional gives simple advice for those coping with heightened emotional stress: “Pay attention.”
“We become so overwhelmed that we miss actually seeing each other,” Beekman continued. “Going unseen invalidates all the heavy trials life places on us. Taking a good look at those we love is a huge way to lighten their distress and reconnect us at the same time.”
Lyons’ work also centers around the healing power of connection.
During her cancer journey, she chose a holistic approach and began inviting relatives to gather on Sundays for laughter and companionship. The gatherings, which she called “Smiling Sundays,” helped her find moments of joy during one of the most frightening periods of her life.
“The principle behind my nonprofit is that if you are truly connected and supported, you can find joy in any situation,” Lyons said. “Sometimes that joy can be in the simplest things.”
Beekman emphasizes that easing emotional strain begins with finding a place where people can stop bracing for the next crisis. She encourages those carrying layered stress to seek experiences where they feel safe enough to release emotions they may have suppressed while weathering life or caring for everyone else.
“You don’t know how much you are carrying until you are in safe spaces where your emotions are free to be released,” she said. “Times of high stress are not supposed to be navigated alone, yet many of us do exactly that.”
Now 10 years cancer-free, Lyons continues to draw a key lesson she learned about finding comfort during one of the hardest seasons in her life, her battle with breast cancer.
“Pour into others even in your own need,” she said. “During times of scarcity, you’ll find that there are still great riches to be found in the simple act of truly connecting with others.”
