Expert Weighs in on Mental Toll of Record-Breaking Job Loss for Black Women

After Black women disproportionately lost more than 300,000 jobs in 2025, the conversation around economic recovery can’t ignore what comes next: the quiet, growing toll on mental health. On top of the financial strain, many are navigating heightened stress, uncertainty, and the emotional weight of starting over both professionally and financially.

Few understand the emotional toll of job loss better than Black mental health powerhouse Dr. LaNail R. Plummer, founder of Onyx Therapy Group and author of “The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women.” An educator and speaker, her work centers on documenting, advancing, and expanding culturally responsive care for marginalized communities—especially Black women. As economic instability continues, Dr. Plummer is assessing Black women for Acute Stress Disorder (ASD), a short-term mental health condition that can occur within a month of a traumatic event and is characterized by severe anxiety, flashbacks, and detachment, according to the Mayo Clinic.

“This is a trauma disorder that occurs before Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD),” Dr. Plummer told The Root. “If we can capture the experience of that Black woman and help her through therapy interventions within the first six months of her traumatic event, then we are likely to prevent PTSD,” she detailed.

As CEO of Onyx Therapy Group, Dr. Plummer is intentional about ensuring Black women’s mental health needs are met by any means necessary. For those navigating the loss of employer-based health benefits, she points to more accessible care options, including sliding-scale rates, flexible fees, and pro bono services. “That is my social action. To ensure that Black women don’t develop PTSD,” she urged.

Signs Depression May Be Looming

So how do you know if you—or someone close to you—is dealing with depression after job loss? According to the clinical expert, while each condition presents differently, economic strain can act as a trigger for disorders like major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and PTSD. Still, the warning signs are often more noticeable than people think.

A Significant Change to Routine: “Let’s say they normally hang out with people and all of a sudden they don’t want to hang out anymore. If they had hobbies of which they found joy but don’t participate in those hobbies anymore. If they’re sleeping a lot more than they used to sleep, that’s a concern more so related to depression,” she warned. 

“If they’re overeating or overdrinking, what’s happening is they need some sort of stimulation because they’re not working anymore. Their brain needs stimulation, but those things have a negative effect.”

Negative Fixations Lead to Anxiety: negative fixations can also signal that something deeper is at play. This can show up as repeatedly replaying a perceived injustice or setback to the point where it becomes difficult to think clearly. Over time, that mental loop can turn into intrusive, uncontrollable thoughts—fueling heightened anxiety and emotional distress.

“They become fixated on the injustice. When one becomes fixated on the injustice then we start to get concerned about anxiety,” Dr. Plummer said. “Also sleep patterns—what time of night are they waking up? Are they able to go back to sleep? This is especially important for women who lost their jobs during menopausal ages. Their bodies are naturally going through something and now the trauma of job loss is creating something different.”

Negative Self-Talk: the mental health CEO also warns to keep your ears open for negative self-talk, including harsh thoughts like “I’m never going back to work, I don’t trust people, or I’m not doing this anymore.” According to her, the initial upset can be normal, however anything longer than a couple weeks poses a red flag, as “emotions and thoughts are designed in our brains to be released.”

“We have always been told, as Black women, that education and our work would be our way out of difficulty,” she said. “So when we get the education, the jobs, and the titles—doing all the things right—and still feel penalized, it makes us question our entire history.”

Supporting Black Women in the Workplace

Supporting Black women in the workplace goes beyond hiring—it requires intentional efforts to create environments where they feel seen, valued, protected and appreciated. In her book, “The Essential Guide for Counseling Black Women,” Dr. Plummer writes that Black women “create a legacy through work,” trading the traditional path of marriage and parenting to build legacy, strive for higher education and capital gain. Thus, job loss isn’t just a blow to our wallets, but also to our identity.

“After job loss and during periods of job insecurity, many Black women don’t feel safe at work. That’s why it’s so important to create psychologically safe environments. The four key components are inclusion, learning, contributing, and challenging. In each of these moments, there’s an opportunity to support and validate Black women,” Dr. Plummer told The Root.

According to the expert, protecting your mental health starts with the basics: engaging in hobbies, maintaining a routine, eating well, and taking breaks from endless social media scrolling. But she notes a bigger challenge—Black communities are “communal people who lean in on each other,” yet many corporate spaces fail to embrace this culture, creating stress for Black employees. Addressing this head on could be the change needed to resolve tension in the corporate world.  

“You’re going to get more from a person if they feel good and comfortable with you, versus if they fear you. So there’s an opportunity for leaders to focus on their own biases,” the CEO said.