**Not gonna lie, this is weird as hell to talk about. But if this is going to inspire someone to seek help, then I’ll just step outside my comfort zone.**
I want to start this blog off with a huge thank you to everybody who has been supportive of my crazy dreams. This has been a long time coming, and I’m so excited to finally use the world wide web as a way to shine my light…
Ya’ll probably have been trying to figure out where the hell I’ve been, and I’m going to be honest: I’ve been hiding out. I recently made a big girl decision and parted ways with a good paying job that was affecting me mentally, physically and emotionally. So now I’m back at square one….
But let’s speak on a more serious note. If you haven’t heard already, Kid Cudi wrote an open letter pretty much letting fans know he is checking himself into rehab for depression and suicidal thoughts. Now if you are a die hard Cudi fan, then you probably already knew this was coming, so you’re probably feeling some relief. While on the other hand, a lot of people were actually caught off guard by his honesty.
Let’s just keep it real: In the Black community, MENTAL ILLNESS IS A NO NO!!! We all have that guy in our neighborhood who talks to himself that our mama told us to stay away from… or we have that cousin who lost a loved one and turned to drugs and alcohol... or hell, I know we all have a friend that does not want to accept the fact that they are Black or whatever. We all are surrounded by mental illness, but we shy away from addressing it, because it’s not “cool” or “polite.”
“Men, admitting you need help does not make you weak or lame. It does not take away from your masculinity or manhood.”
We, as Black people, were conditioned to shy away from not being happy or normal ― even when our circumstances were fucked up. And let’s not even get started on the mental health of the Black community when it came down to getting kidnapped from Africa and brought to an unfamiliar country to be a slave. Or let me not bring up the fact that we were ― or I mean we still are ― being raped, lynched, beat and killed simply because the color of our skin. So mental health in the Black community is beyond real. However, it seems like instead of dealing with it in a correct way, some of us fall into addiction.
Just because you suffer from depression ― or bipolar disorder or any other mental illness ― does not mean you should be ashamed. Our culture would rather hide our own individual battles and ostracize those who are openly dealing with their own. And that’s a problem.
What Cudi did was by far the realest thing anybody could ever do. He accepted the fact he was not happy, and now he is working to get to a better place.
Y’all, I cannot stress this enough:
Men, admitting you need help does not make you weak or lame. It does not take away from your masculinity or manhood. But instead, it shows us you are actually stronger than what we thought.
Ladies, admitting that you need help does not make you thirsty for attention or whack, but instead it shows us that you truly love yourself.
I’ve never been the type to tell my business, but I would be a hypocrite to tell y’all to take mental breaks and etc when I’m not doing the same. I graduated from one of the best colleges in the nation with an amazing degree in government, and I’m unemployed. I have no idea what I want to do with my life, and to be honest I’m stressed. I would be dead wrong to act like I’m happy as hell right now, because I’m not. Everybody keeps telling me that I’m young and have time to figure things out, but quite frankly that doesn’t really help my anxiety. Hence, that’s why I started this blog. I wanted to use my talents in a productive way.
“So thank you, Kid Cudi, for having the guts to admit that life is hard as hell to deal with, and that it’s okay to go seek help.”
Now do not get me wrong, my parents and friends have helped me deal with the anxiety. Beyonce and trap music has helped me deal with the insecure feelings, and the blood of Jesus has kept me from popping off on people because of my short fuse.
But what really helped me cope with the anxiety and depression was waking up and realizing I was not happy. So thank you, Kid Cudi, for having the guts to admit that life is hard as hell to deal with, and that it’s okay to go seek help. I’m so happy his revelation was able to open up a dialogue for people to address the taboo of mental illness in our community. Hell, his revelation even caused me to tell y’all all my business. LMFAO.
But for real though, if you know anybody who is going through some shit ― or hell if you are that person going through something ― just understand it will get better. And if you can’t find anybody you can trust to talk to, I’m opening my DMs and email to those who are feeling like life is overwhelming.
Peace and cornbread,
Faith
A version of this post originally appeared on Sunset Noir.
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If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of resources.
