As a Black woman, I’ve often found myself bearing the weight of the world with a smile on my face, told time and again how "strong" I am. It’s a badge of honor that comes with a hidden cost—one that too many of us silently pay. Why is it that our struggles are celebrated as signs of resilience, yet when a brother or sister stumbles, we criticize them for not having it all together?
As a Southern girl raised to "handle things" with grace, it feels like no one truly sees me. It’s as if my pain, my struggles, are swept under the rug because, after all, I’m expected to push through it all. And the truth is, I’m not the only one feeling this way. I know there are others out there just like me—unseen, unheard, carrying burdens that no one else seems to acknowledge.
Mental health isn’t some made-up excuse to explain why life gets hard. It’s a very real issue, one that too often gets dismissed, especially in our community. COVID-19 showed me that. I thought I wasn’t affected—I still had my job, and my family was doing alright. My stepdad got sick, but he pulled through. I told myself I was fine. But now, in 2024, life has hit me harder than I could’ve imagined. I’ve lost my job, my business is struggling to take off, my marriage is hanging by a thread, I’m facing the possibility of homelessness, and worst of all, my stepdad didn’t make it.
I’m grieving, I’m exhausted, and I’m severely depressed. I can’t seem to focus long enough to get my life back on track. Yet, I’m still expected to pick myself up and keep going like nothing ever happened. But how do I do that when everything around me feels like it’s falling apart?
We need to have more conversations about mental health in our community—about postpartum depression, the trauma of loss, and how life’s toll can be overwhelming. We should be able to express our feelings, seek help, and not be judged for needing a moment to breathe. Life doesn’t make us less. Our struggles don’t define us. It’s time we start talking about mental health openly, without shame, and get the support we deserve.
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