Mental Health Monday #46: Gucci Mane's sobriety, the mental impact of activism, healing via therapy, etc.

Welcome to another round of Mental Health Monday, your weekly dose of stories, resources, and motivation for your everyday life. In last week's edition, NY Giants star Brandon Marshall discusses his journey with borderline personality disorder, a former bully and her former victim reconcile 15 years later, finding new purpose while living with chronic illnesses, etc. Holler.

THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS:

"When Therapy Is a Comfort" by Bassey Ikpi [The Root]

I realized that my anxiety and depression needed more than little pills that were constantly being refilled; it needed a conversation. It needed a place for the worry and doubt to go. It needed to exist somewhere outside of my own brain. I needed someone to hear me and tell me what was real and what my brain was lying to me about regarding who I was or what I was capable of.

"Gucci Mane Speaks Out on Sobriety and Mental Health: "It makes me stronger."" [Black Doctor]

Since his release from prison, his main priority is getting his mental and physical health back on track. “I had time to sit back and evaluate everything, and also dry out from the drugs. I tried to make the time work for me the best I could,” said Gucci. “I didn’t want to live my life in prison. So I was like, one thing I need to do is be totally sober. I need to have complete clarity. I need to have razor sharp focus on everything I do, every day from when I wake up to when I go to sleep.”

Patrisse Khan-Cullors (photo: Jill Frank)

"This BLM Cofounder Thinks Therapy Should Be Part of Reparations" Elizabeth Nicholas [VICE]

Over the years I have been told to go take care of myself when I was experiencing anxiety or depression, to go do something and come back when I was better. And so what I want to do is create space inside of the movement to foster resilience and for people to take care of themselves. Our movement shouldn’t make us feel disposable.

"A look at how anxiety affects African-Americans" Mashaun D. Simon [NBC]

Angela Neal-Barnett, a director of Kent State’s Program for Research on Anxiety Disorders among African-Americans within the school’s Department of Psychology, told NBC News that for years, no one was writing about anxiety and blackness because researchers assumed anxiety disorders affected African-Americans the same as whites. While on an internship as part of her studies, she was told that the only things African-Americans were afraid of were roaches and rats.

"Jay-Z says therapists should be in schools" by Alexandra King [CNN]

Teenagers especially need help, the rapper emphasized, as young adults often "don't have the language to navigate" their problems with everything from drinking to social anxiety to bullying.

"I think actually it should be in our schools. Children have the most going on. Their minds aren't fully developed," he said.

Join the conversation:

How do you get some joy?

RESOURCES

A reading list for Black folks dealing with or in recovery from eating disorders [National Eating Disorder Association]

If you have a mental health resource, event, or piece of content we should know about, step into our office. You da bess.

Mental Health Monday #44: Serena's postpartum challenges, getting a new therapist, hip-hop coloring books, etc.

On last week's Mental Health Monday, Tracee Ellis Ross shared how conquers the world even when feeling like crap, Steven Thrasher shared why seeing a queer therapist is vital for him, Janelle Harris' "For Colored Girls in Their 30s and 40s Who Feel Like Life May Have Passed Them By," and much more. Come get your blessing.

THIS WEEK'S GOODNESS:

"Serena Williams Opens Up About Postpartum Complications: “Why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby?” by Jessica Bennett [EBONY]

She went on, “I’ve broken down I don’t know how many times. Or I’ll get angry about the crying, then sad about being angry, and then guilty, like, why do I feel so sad when I have a beautiful baby? The emotions are insane.”

"Mental Health Needs Of Black Children Often Fly Under The Radar" by Britni de la Cretaz [The Fix]

A 2016 study found that black and Latino children made 47-58% fewer visits to a mental health professional than their white counterparts, despite similar rates of mental health struggles. This sets black children up for what Dr. Marva Robinson, a licensed clinical psychologist in St. Louis, calls a “permanent domino effect.”

“They usually end up in punitive systems—suspensions, detentions, kicked out of school, expelled or placed in alternative schools,” Robinson told St. Louis Public Radio. “And so, that leads to a very negative trajectory from that point forward. So, higher dropout rates, lower paying jobs, more likely to end up in the criminal system and it just goes on from there.”

5 Tips For Black Girl Bosses To Manage Their Mental Health  by T-Kea Blackman [21 Ninety]

1. ADD A THERAPIST TO YOUR TEAM

When building a business, our team usually consists of a lawyer, accountant, marketing or business coach, graphic designer and maybe a publicist. Yet, we fail to think of a therapist as a vital part of the team. If your mental health fails, you will put your business at risk. Commit to therapy. It does not mean you are weak. And no, you don't have to have a mental illness to see a therapist.

"As a Young Black Man, Rap Helped Me Deal with Depression When I Was Afraid to Seek Help" by Jesse Bernard [Noisey]

The combination of lines like “I don’t want to think of suicide” on “Heavenly Father” and “Hope they don't kill you cause you black today / They only feel you when you pass away / The eulogy be so moving, we live the scenes of those movies” on “Ronnie Drake” communicated what I was unable to say when I felt my voice was insignificant. Whether it was the brooding nature of "West Savannah" and "Tranquility," where Rashad revealed his suicide attempts and substance abuse, or the lines that helped me deal with the odd "You don't talk how I imagined you would" comment from my colleagues at work, it was the first time an artist had spoken to the entirety of my experience.

The latest episode of Therapy For Black Girls explores an important question: "Session 40: Do I Need A New Therapist?"

And because you need a break sometimes, check out Bun B's Rap Coloring & Activity Book:

Or the Adult Coloring Book with Stress Relieving Animal Designs and such...

Or the Hip Hop Coloring Book:

If you have a mental health resource, event, or piece of content we should know about, step into our office. You da bess.