By Carla Canfield // Mental Health // EEW Magazine Online

The normalization of the conversation around mental health in the African American Community has been slow coming. But change is on the horizon as evidenced by the sheer number of Black women that are openly discussing it.

Actors, athletes, television stars, gospel singers, media personalities and more are speaking out about the necessity of taking care of our whole selves—mind, body, and spirit—which cannot happen until we remove the shame and stigma of mental illness.

To help keep the dialogue going, EEW Magazine Online is highlighting 15 Black women, in no particular order, who have made potent and much-needed statements about mental health.

 #1 Michelle Williams on Christians and Mental Health Treatment

“More than 16 million American adults a year develop a major depressive disorder the way I had. Generalized anxiety disorder affects nearly 7 million. Less than half seek or get treatment. Less than half. Christians can be especially prone to this, as if we don’t want to let down the Great Physician or think that depression is a failure of faith. I ask you, though, would we do the same if we had cancer or some other disease?”

#2 Kerry Washington on the Necessity of Therapy

“I think it’s really important to take the stigma away from mental health. My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth. I go to the dentist. So why wouldn’t I go to a shrink?”

#3 Oprah Winfrey Addresses Shame

“I'm a good talker. But I soon learned that you can't talk someone out of depression. Mental illness is real. And like everything else in life, it operates on a spectrum. Though there are common symptoms, everyone experiences it differently. Yet so many people live in shame, hiding their struggles, not seeking help. We, as a culture, have not fully acknowledged how much help is needed. The only real shame is on us for not being willing to speak openly. For continuing to deny that mental health is related to our overall health. We need to start talking, and we need to start now.”

#4 Viola Davis on The Strong Black Woman Trope

“Mental Health is our ‘silent’ crisis. There is no shame in speaking out and seeking help. I myself suffer from anxiety, and there is much stigma when you are not perceived as a ‘strong’ Black woman. But, let's redefine strength as vulnerability, authenticity and the courage to say, ‘I'm hurting.’ Let's rethink saying, ‘Thick skin.’ When it's thick, nothing can get in, but nothing can come out.”

#5 Mandisa Manigault on Hope in the Darkness

“If you’ve ever found yourself in a dark place as the result of grief, depression, or even loss, I assure you that even when you’re walking through dark valleys, God can lead you on a path to joy and hope.”

#6 Taraji Henson on the Need to Talk About It

“We’re walking around broken, wounded and hurt, and we don’t think it’s OK to talk about it. We don’t talk about it at home. It’s shunned. We think it’s something that makes you look weak. We’re told to pray it away.”

#7 Tasha Cobbs on Finding Peace in God

“I’ve been preaching that He’s the God of peace, He’s the God who rids us of chaos in our life. The Bible talks about the peace that we cannot understand. With all the faith I have, I have to believe Him to be the God that I preach about. So, when I’m struggling to find peace in my mind, I can always go to God, and He gives me peace that surpasses my understanding. Besides therapy, that’s one of the things that keeps me whole. I practice what I preach now when it comes to this, because that’s the only thing that really heals. I believe therapy brought awareness to the places in me that needed healing and that God and my faith then healed me.”

#8 Dianna Hobbs on Christians Normalizing Mental Health Treatment

“Please, say this with me: We need to normalize mental health treatment. When I was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury in 2019, that really opened my understanding of mental health. I realize now, in a way that I didn’t before, that we must be okay with saying we need help. It’s okay to love God and get therapy and even take medicine to regulate your brain if necessary. Needing mental health assistance does not make you a weak or bad Christian. God, our greatest physician of all, has empowered human physicians to address human needs which includes our mental health treatment.”

#9 Tamar Braxton on Finding Understanding and Acceptance

“It’s going to be alright. You’re going to find the people that understand you, who you don’t have to explain yourself to. You are good enough. It’s going to happen for you, and you’re going to make it, and you’re going to be surrounded by people who are not going to judge you, and who are not going to make you feel inferior or bad about what you have been through and what you have overcome.”

#10 Regina King on Tapping Into your Emotions

“I've been allowing myself the space to actually emote, to cry. A lot of us are experiencing depression right now. And a lot of us who may not have been able to identify depression and when we're feeling it are experiencing it for the first time. I've been very much okay with those moments where I feel like I'm suffocating and taking the time to actually release it out into the world. It doesn't feel like I'm helpless; it feels like a cleansing, and I've been allowing myself to shed the tears.”

#11 Tamron Hall on Acknowledging Her Specific Needs

“My day-to-day changes! …I pray every morning, but what I've learned is not to approach it as a ‘same day, same way’ mentality because each day brings new circumstances. There are some days that require a hot bath or a therapist. For me, I have decided to no longer live by a template. I’m comforted in different ways: Sometimes, it can be as simple as a hot bath. There are other days when I need more — and I seek that.”

#12 Tamera Mowry-Housley on Asking for Help

“A lot of the times, you’re so focused on helping other people that you forget to look inward. And it’s okay to not be okay. It’s okay to say, ‘I think I need a little help here.’ I’m not afraid to ask for it.”

#13 Michelle Obama on Processing Trauma

"To think that somehow, we can just continue to rise above all the shock and the trauma and the upheaval that we have been experiencing without feeling it in that way is just unrealistic. This is one of the reasons why we need to talk more about mental health, because everybody deals with trauma, anxiety, the difficulties in different ways.”

#14 Allyson Felix on Being Intentional about Putting Yourself First

“Before becoming a mother, I was always putting myself last on the list of people who need to be taken care of. I was always taking care of everyone else first, and I'll be fine, I thought. But, becoming a mother and having to be in a position to really take care of and have someone depend on me showed me how I do need to prioritize myself and my own mental health so that I can be the best for my daughter. You have to be intentional about it— setting aside time and understanding when you need to take space for yourself and lean into your support system.”

#15 Venus Williams on Creating a Culture of Acceptance

“The challenge of taking care of our mental health through the ups and downs of life is something that all of us, no matter our background, can relate to. Now, more than ever, we need to create an accepting and open environment to seek professional mental health therapy.”

Feel free to refer to these quotes as reminders that your mental health matters and must be prioritized daily to optimize your health, wellness, and happiness.