About our guest author: Melody Starya Mobley’s experiences as the first black woman serving as a forester for the USDA are remarkable: both for the firsts she embodies and for the years of abuse and oppression she experienced within that system.
Now, Melody shares her personal stories to create positive change for groups historically excluded from accessing American natural spaces.
With the few federal protections that exist currently being stripped away, it’s more important than ever for stories like these to be told. Learn more about Melody and watch her documentary The Dark White Forest on her website at starya.org.
Image credit: Kirth Bobb
How seeking equal opportunity led to isolation
Mental health is already difficult to maintain in small, isolated communities. Adding a formal complaint process to the mix can present additional challenges to maintaining strong mental health.
Isolation and struggle get worse if the work environment demands an Equal Employment Opportunity complaint process. Once the complaint is resolved, employees are often labeled as troublemakers and passed over for the best assignments. For me, that meant all the work went to colleagues, and I was publicly humiliated. Retaliation from supervisors and colleagues is often brutal: they treat you differently, if they interact with you at all. Friends are lost. Social isolation increases and interactions wane.
The results of having filed EEO complaints left me severely depressed, and I attempted various forms of suicidal behavior on more than one occasion. I was drinking a six-pack of beer or half a bottle of wine every night in an attempt to self-medicate and dull my mental anguish.
I never want anyone else to feel this way. Below are some of my strategies for navigating institutional systems while feeling isolated.
Strategies for surviving isolation
1 – Seek trusted professional counseling.
I found professional counseling to be the best way to combat these effects of settling or prevailing on an EEO complaint. Sometimes, people are reluctant to take this step, but it helps to remember that mental illness is a disease like any other aspect of one’s health.
More than one counselor has told me that the toxic work I experienced for over 28 years was so severe that I will likely suffer from clinical depression for the rest of my life. So, please, get professional help. Sooner rather than later is best. I still use telehealth to meet with my health care providers.
2 – Protect yourself.
While you seek professional mental health support, don’t forget about the demands of an institutional process. Report any incidents to personnel staff above your staff level. Meticulous documentation of every occurrence of retaliation is critical. Then, file a new complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) using your detailed, thorough documentation that you keep off-site in a secure location.
And, if the retaliation gets too severe, seek employment elsewhere. This can be a drastic measure, especially if you love your agency; and you have to be careful not to get blacklisted if your negative reputation follows you.
3 – Develop healthy community online.
Rural areas are predominantly monocultural. In the USDA Forest Service, white males still dominate the positions of power. And, in my opinion, people of color were often selected for their phenotypic characteristics and not allowed or encouraged to perform at the high level that they can. Their power was often usurped.
Since it can also be difficult to never be around someone who looks like you, building a culturally diverse community online can help with the daily sense of isolation.
4 – Involve your mentor.
Involve your mentor for protection. I have several mentors, even to this day. I always choose one that has a lot of political clout within, and hopefully outside, the agency. Your mentor can intervene and help you survive, if not thrive, from the effects of filing an EEO complaint.
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“Strategies for Surviving” is a three-part series launched during National Suicide Prevention Month. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. You can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org (available 24/7, free, and confidential in the U.S. and Canada).
Read more of Melody’s writings
on the American Green blog.