Letitia Wright. (photo: People)
Welcome to another round of Mental Health Monday, your weekly dose of stories, resources, and motivation for your everyday life. On last week's edition, Raptors shooting guard DeMar DeRozan opened up about his battle with depression, how one woman combine's art therapy and activism, why arming teachers is a super bad idea that will result in more dead Black students, and more. Check it out.
THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS
Here's your cousin Tiffany Haddish's inspiring and hilarious acceptance speech from ESSENCE's Black Women In Hollywood event.
.@TiffanyHaddish's inspiring #BlackWomenInHollywood speech had us laughing, crying, and everything in-between. https://t.co/uytbFnUpzH pic.twitter.com/VE9RpbOFtw
— ESSENCE (@Essence) March 5, 2018
"Letitia Wright Opens Up About Her Struggles With Depression, Advocates For Black Mental Health Awareness" by Tonja Renée Stidhum [Blavity]
“I speak boldly about [depression] because I struggled with it and I tried to find different ways [to heal], and it just didn't work. I had to look deeper to find what could hold me, and I found that what held me together was my relationship with Jesus and my relationship with God,” she continued."
"Leveling the Mental Health Counseling Racial Playing Field" by Natalie Cort, Ph.D. [Psychology Today]
African-Americans in need of mental health care are frequently reluctant to seek treatment, due to fears about mental health professionals’ abilities to provide culturally competent care. These fears are warranted as research has robustly indicated that racial/ethnic minorities are frequently subjected to negative implicit racial biases and microaggressions displayed by health professionals. These biases are associated with disproportionate misdiagnoses, the provision of poor-quality mental health treatment and increased disability among people of color, especially Black/African-American individuals.
(photo: Rochelle Brock, Refinery29)
"We Need To Talk About Black Women & Therapy" Kimberly Truong [Refinery 29]
"There aren't enough Black women therapists to go around, but it has been my experience that Black women typically want another Black woman as a therapist," Dr. Bradford says. "The field is still predominantly white, so even if all Black women said, 'I want to go see a therapist,' there would not be enough of us to speak to."
"The Mental Health System Can’t Stop Mass Shooters" by Amy Barnhorst [NY Times]
Mr. Cruz had suffered from depression and was getting counseling at one point. He was also evaluated by emergency mental health workers in 2016, but they decided not to hospitalize him. Why, some critics are demanding, didn’t he receive proper treatment? And can’t we just stop angry, unstable young men like him from buying firearms?
It’s much harder than it sounds.
"Silencing “It” — Mental Health And Black Children" by Tiffany Caesar [Successful Black Parenting]
Children must be made aware of the mental health process. Sometimes there is a repetitive statement that adults like to say, “They’re too young…” We use this phrase to avoid difficult conversations with our children. However, we must remember that children are wise and capable beings. Don’t deny them knowledge concerning their mental health. Tell your child that a mental health check is a normal part of a healthy routine. Desensitize the topic by allowing your child to ask questions. If you find out your child is diagnosed with a mental illness, tell your child in the most loving way and emphasize your support through this difficult time.
And to give you some warm and fuzzies or whatever, here's Donald Glover scooping up 113 boxes of Girl Scout cookies from a young star who rapped the hell out of his song, "Redbone."
