From last week's episode of black-ish, which tackled postpartum depression.
Welcome to another round of Mental Health Monday, your weekly dose of stories, resources, and motivation for your everyday life. On our last post, Dr. Joy Harden Bradford from Therapy for Black Girls dispel some myths about suicide, wellness advocate Donalee Curtis shares some self-care tips, NY Giants star Brandon Marshall opens up about living with borderline personality disorder, and much more. Check it out here.
THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS:
"‘Black-ish’ Takes On Postpartum Depression in a Powerful Episode" by Maureen Ryan
The second episode of the season is in a different key, so to speak. It takes on an important topic, but one that is often spoken of in whispers, if it’s talked about at all. And it’s entirely appropriate that “Mother Nature,” which depicts Rainbow Johnson’s experience with postpartum depression, airs on World Mental Health Day.
In the episode, the difficulties she experiences after giving birth to baby DeVante overwhelm Rainbow Johnson (Tracee Ellis Ross). Her postpartum depression affects the entire family, and at first, everyone — including Bow — is unsure of how to proceed.
YouTuber Myrie opens up about what it was like to have a mental breakdown and how she bounced back.
"PSA: Take Your Fucking Lunch Break" by Tracy Moore [Jezebel]
The company rewarded this thinking with performance bonuses and free pizza and other things that made it clear that the standard of excellence was never taking your lunch break. Everyone bought into it and suffered horribly. We all gained weight, and twentysomethings were routinely diagnosed with ulcers and various migraines, back problems, hemorrhoids and other ailments usually befalling older workers.
"Psychiatrists Can’t Stop Mass Killers" by Richard A. Friedman [New York Times]
It’s true that many mass murderers do have a mental disorder, typically a severe personality disorder or a psychotic illness. But this fact has almost no implication for how to stop them.
Why? First, a vast majority of these killers avoid the mental health care system. They are intent on murdering people, not on seeking help, and generally don’t see themselves as psychiatrically ill.
"8 Mental Health and Self Care Resources for QTPOC" by Danielle Dorsey [We Are Your Voice]
2017 has been a challenging year, to say the least. It seems a day hardly goes by without the Trump administration signing a new executive order stripping marginalized people of more rights. His racist rhetoric is literally killing people, and many of us have been called to battle to protect our friends, family members, colleagues, and in many cases, ourselves. It’s been an exhausting ten months.
"Here’s How To Effectively Talk To Your Kids About Depression" by Lauren Rearick [Huffington Post]
Realize that your child may already know something is wrong.
Children are extremely perceptive, Schlesinger points out, and will begin to notice if a parent is feeling irritable or unable to play with them. Parents should try to spend as much time with their children as they can and ask the other parent to help or provide additional support when needed.
"The Black Atheist Experience" by Lornett B. Vestal [Evolving Man Project]
It took me many years to get to the point of even writing something like this on a public forum. Being an atheist in America isn’t well received by many people – even in the non-religious circles where people claim to be ‘spiritual but not religious,’ or some black folks take the Talib Kweli route of “God is good, but religion is bad.”
Do you have a mental health resource (therapist, counselor, substance abuse program, housing or financial assistance program, etc.) that you'd like to share with the world? Share it here. Alex is curating an online wellness hub for Black and brown folks. Check out GetSomeJoy here.
Our latest episode: The Watermelon Woman (feat. Cheryl Dunye)
