How You Feeling, Love?

Let’s talk about mental health in our black communities. With social media making content easily accessible, it is very easy to become overwhelmed with the amounts of hate and violence we are seeing aimed at black people and the Black Lives Matter Movement. I first and foremost want to say, as a black person, whatever you are feeling is VALID! We are ALLOWED to be angry; we are allowed to be exhausted; we can feel joy and/or dislike and we should be allowed to express these emotions without being prosecuted, assaulted or threatened.

During times like this it’s important that we give ourselves time to grieve. We all saw a man lose his life because he looked like us, that is A LOT to take in. Racism can have many impacts on mental health. The frequency and amount of incidences of racism we have been exposed to in the past 2 weeks, it is bound to have an impact. We should to be mindful of how the effects look so that we can be aware of what is going on within and heal. Here are some things you should look out for:

When you notice these signs, it’s time for you to take a break and show yourself some love. There are many ways we can do this; anything that fills your wants and more importantly, your needs, in a healthy way is a great place to start! Here are some ways that I show myself some extra care, especially in times when I am in crisis:

• Long showers: long showers give me the space to think and dance and sing as loud as I want. I feel free during my long showers. I use essential oils and my diffuser to boost my mood and also give my showers a spa-like feel. I also use this time to admire my body (which I think is something we all could use) and compliment her.

• 4-7-8 Breathing Technique: This technique is used for grounding. Grounding is defined as a practice that connects your body to the earth and brings strength and physical and emotional balance. Whenever I feel overwhelmed I take a deep breath in for 4 seconds, hold it for 7 seconds, then release for 8 seconds through my mouth. Leave a comment below if you'd like to learn more about grounding techniques 🤗

• Anything Creative: My go-to choice for expressing my creativity is through photography. I love dressing up, creating a vision and using my camera and body to execute that vision. It gives me something to focus on and it’s also super fun! Any way you choose to get creative will help you feel better!

• Dancing/Physical Activity: This has become a new thing for me. Blasting my favorite tunes and dancing like nobody is watching is so freeing. I chose to dance to music that inspires me, you can do the same (or just jam out to your favorite phonks).

It’s important for us to feel through the trauma we are facing right now. Feeling through is the only way to overcome. Finding healthy ways to comprehend, express and release these emotions will only make us stronger human beings both emotionally and physically! We are a force, let’s make that force even more stronger by keeping our minds and bodies healthy.

Credits: Flyer was taken from @realdepressionproject on Instagram. Click the picture above to see their profile.