A Few Incredible Truths About Black Mental Wellness

Photo by Bruna Clem

We’re living in a world where racial trauma is at the forefront of so many experiences, but no one’s talking about it. 

I’m not in the business of avoiding the things we need to say, so this Black History Month, we’re talking about your mental wellness and the truths you need to thrive in it.

We don’t live in a post-racial world and our mental health knows it! 

There’s a whole lot of talk about how things have changed for a “colorblind” world, hell-bent on looking the other way as black folx die in situations where they were just being Black!. Whether it’s expressed as anger, sadness, or being hyper focussed on the world around us, , the mental health of every Black person is impacted by the way the world continues to try to shut down what it feels like to be Black in America in 2022. 

Black folx are still healing historical trauma 

This world is not post-racial. Just because there is no formal segregation, the weight of knowing that every avoidable Black death- justified by perceived aggression that never really existed- is a crushing force to your emotional safety. Moving through the world on the defensive, preparing to protect your right to drive, to walk, to shop, and to engage with the world peacefully, is a weight that every Black person carries. 

The mental health of Black folx is impacted by these realities today alongside the impact of navigating the lies we are constantly being fed about who we are and how we show up in the world. 

Oppression has psychological impacts

The experience of continued microaggressions (be it assaults, insults, or invalidations) can, and often does, have macro impacts. Many of these go undetected and/or treated due to denial or lack of knowledge and training for mental health professionals.

This oppression, along with all the historical trauma,  and the current wave of suffocating denial that it still exists is heavy af. It weighs on the mind even when it's not a conscious thought, and can influence the reactions to self and our surroundings at every level. When we move through the world feeling unsafe, feeling questioned, or targeted, it can be difficult to assess and accept the experiences you have. 

Mental wellness is a product of mental care, and examining pain is a difficult process to undertake if you’re still trying to protect yourself. Our empowerment grows every time we undertake it though, and that’s amazing. We are indeed resilient beings- perfect, whole, and complete.

Emotional Emancipation Circles can help you flourish 

While you can find support tailored to the healing you’re ready to undertake in a variety of settings, Emotional Emancipation Circles (EEC) were designed specifically to cultivate the freedom to heal for Black folx, by Black folx. 

As a licensed therapist and EEC facilitator, I’m happy to support you on a journey of individual therapy that shapes up any way you feel compelled to show up. We can explore the anti-black rhetoric at the root of your pain, and rewrite your wellness with a story that tells your truth—not someone else’s. We can come together on your journey to thrive, and not just survive, despite the state of the world. 

Recognizing signs of trauma can help you care for yourself 

Something revolutionary that happens in your mental wellness is recognizing the hurt and trauma you’ve experienced so you can show up for yourself authentically. When you’re hurting, you defend yourself. That defense may look or feel unbalanced to the way you want to approach the world or even your own story. 

Being real with yourself begins with recognizing the spaces you haven’t been before. That’s hard. Part of your magic is hidden in your ability to do hard things, though. We do them every day by existing in a world that’s choking on its efforts to deny the anti-Black practices it upholds. Part of our journey includes how to navigate unsafe spaces while creating safer spaces!

Photo by August de Richelieu 

Community care starts with self-care

Black communities have thrived through coming together when no one else has shown up to offer support. The cumulative weight of historical trauma can be dispersed among a community to lighten everyone’s load and the benefit is palpable. But how can you lighten anyone’s burden if you continue to deny yours? 

Self-care isn’t a selfish act that detracts from the help you can offer others. Therapy isn’t a failure at offering your best to your community or yourself. Showing up for yourself for the hard shit is at the root of healing, and in doing so, you’ll lighten the load by showing up fully with your healing truth instead of just your pain. 

Sensitivity does not mean silence 

To be sensitive to the historical pain you carry alongside your lived experience does not mean that you must swallow them for the benefit of yourself or anyone else. Your mental wellness does not come at the cost of denying your story. 

It might be Black History month, but you’re the living narrative of your Blackness 24/7-365, and your story has a safe space to be told here. 

You can be sensitive and challenge the narratives that don’t serve you. 

You can be open and uphold the boundaries that protect you. 

You can THRIVE and not just survive, despite multiple systems and experiences of oppression.

Your Blackness is an important part of your mental wellness, and you deserve to thrive as your authentic self.