Mental Health Awareness Month

May is here which means it is also Mental Health Awareness Month! What are the evens that this month also celebrates mothers? I think it is no coincidence being that the mother is all of our first home. Believe it or not, the traumas of our mothers are passed down to us as if it were etched in stone. Although time wears away the past, the print knows the beginning traces as if it were the original copy.

A book I often refer to is, It Didn't Start With You by Mark Wolynn which explains the copying of trauma in a more detailed way. To make it short, trauma, as far as the conception of human kind, travels from one body to the next starting from our very first home, our mothers. Yes, our fathers have something to do with this, but the male sperm does not develop until he hits puberty while the female womb is developed when the mother is 5 months pregnant with the daughter (Yes, the womb starts to develop in the female fetus in the second trimester). There is no wonder why the daughter's children are typically closer with her mother. THE WOMB. This also makes us focus more on mental health. How are we taking care of ourselves now and how have we been doing so in the past?

Another historical fact, the mental health and psychology field did not consider black people or the black family until the 90s. This is why a lot of us 90s babies don't really have a relationship with mental health because our parents and grand parents did not. Those of us who do make it our mission to consider mental health is typically by choice. With that being said, I hope this helps you gain perspective for those who have come before us that are so stubborn and negligent to the new things we are trying to bring into the black family tradition and the tradition of the "lower class." Not saying we need to take it easy on them, just hoping to encourage more patience (plus, they damn sure weren't easy on us). When we know better we do better, and I hope you are considering not only your mental health but the mental health of the family that you come from.

If you need mental health support, email me, and I will share my resources and provide the help that I can give. Talk to someone, go get a counselor, and do whatever helps you best. No matter what, your mental health matters and you matter too! 988 is the number for the suicide and crisis lifeline if you need help. Peace, Love, and Hair Grease! Happy Mother's Day!