“I struggled with my mental health this year. My therapist has helped me with my mental health, and I’m still going. If you are talking, you are thinking instead of suppressing your emotions; you can understand yourself and have a better understanding of other people in your life. A trained therapist will be way better than what a family can do independently.
[Racism] impacts [mental health] in a lot of ways. Take history class: all we learn about is how Black people have been at the bottom and fought for their rights. The end. That takes a toll on someone’s self-confidence. To never see anyone in their race achieve greatness like we see other races do. Single parent households, poverty, crime, etc. are all indirectly related to racism/white supremacy. Nobody has time to worry about mental health if they wonder where their next meal will come from.
Black therapists are a need. More Black people need to go into that field because the more Black people start to care about their mental health, the more Black therapists will be required. It was tricky for us to find one who was Black, close enough, deals explicitly with teens and takes our insurance.
Ask your parents about therapy. Reach out to mental health resources. Find your purpose in life. Find friends and family who care about you and want to see you do well for yourself.”
— Ephren