I think that the reason mental health is trivialized is for older blacks is due to the conditions they lived in, having depression and/or anxiety was the norm, you know? Like when my grandmother used to get into one of her “we don’t need therapy we have Jesus” speeches it used to piss me off until I realized that when presented with the symptoms of depression, she honestly didn’t think that they were anything out of the ordinary of the condition of living. When you really think about it, between slavery, jim crow, segregation, etc. black people really weren’t given the option of breakin down; survival was the name of the game and you just had to go on. Massa didn’t give a damn if life as a subhuman workhorse was destroying you mentally, keep going. Boss doesn’t care that your son got lynched; keep working. I think the attitude is slowly changing and we are starting to embrace the importance of mental health. I don’t know, this is just a collection of thoughts I’ve had for awhile.

For years black people were socialized to bear whatever pain they faced and endure, with religion as the only option for refuge. I know I have been told countless times that “I need Jesus” to find the answers to my problems, and while the suggestion came from a place of love, it was of no use to my agnostic ass.

We are making great strides in understanding mental health issues and hopefully we will keep these conversations going and we’ll see more progress.

ONTD commenters on Brandy’s interview about her anorexia. (x)

(Source: pocselfharm, via cereal-for-supper)

Notes

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