{"id":92878,"date":"2019-07-19T14:25:34","date_gmt":"2019-07-19T18:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/mental-health-at-the-intersections\/"},"modified":"2019-07-19T14:25:34","modified_gmt":"2019-07-19T18:25:34","slug":"mental-health-at-the-intersections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/mental-health-at-the-intersections\/","title":{"rendered":"Mental Health at the Intersections"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mental Health at the Intersections<\/b>
\n<\/p>\n

Post submitted by George Johnson, writer and activist<\/em><\/p>\n

Mental health is still a taboo topic across Black communities. Although many of us are now starting to break that cycle, it is still very much one of those things we don\u2019t talk about enough, nor do we have enough resources to make informed decisions about how to even start. For centuries, we have found solace in the church, communal spaces and each other. However, it is important that we invest time in the practice of mental health in professional spaces where we can vocalize our issues in an objective safe space.<\/p>\n

Many of us live<\/a> at the intersections of race, gender and sexuality. These layers of marginalization create a multitude of oppression that requires nuance in discussing and processing our normal day-to-day lives. It is one thing to discuss being a man<\/a> or queer or Black separately. It is something else when you are the embodiment of all three — like I am — and you face additional pressures from society around conforming in both white and Black, cis-het and queer spaces alike.<\/p>\n

I face racism and anti-Blackness on a daily basis, both intersected with homophobia, which creates a dynamic that can be dangerous to my mental health. I don\u2019t enter a room as just one thing. It is my intersections that make me different from the societal \u201cnorm,\u201d and it is these differences that control my interactions, my thoughts and how I am allowed to show up in the world. And these are all things that are detrimental to my mental health.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t just get to be <\/em>without thinking about safety in all spaces I enter. My Blackness is inherently queer and can be attacked at any time.<\/p>\n

For those reasons, I am a mental health advocate and a firm believer in the value of seeking mental health care. For me, practices of self-care are important in making it through the day. It\u2019s about the ability to speak with someone about who I am without judgement, while also learning ways to process my \u201cnormal.\u201d This has helped in healing old trauma while setting boundaries and breaking down the conditions I placed on myself that used to block me.<\/p>\n

I often speak about the intricacies of living at the intersections because they all play a role in maintaining good mental health. Understanding how we are seen in the world, how we see ourselves and what to do when we struggle with both were my first steps to having the courage to address old wounds and start the path toward healing. I\u2019ll be speaking more about this during a panel discussion at HRC that will be streamed live<\/a> on HRC\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> on July 31.<\/p>\n

For more information about HRC\u2019s 2019 Minority Mental Health Month event and to RSVP, <\/em>click here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

www.hrc.org\/blog\/mental-health-at-the-intersections?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mental Health at the Intersections Post submitted by George Johnson, writer and activist Mental health is still a taboo topic across Black communities. Although many of us are now starting to break that cycle, it is still very much one of those things we don\u2019t talk about enough, nor do we have enough resources to … Continue reading Mental Health at the Intersections<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2466,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92878","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMental Health at the Intersections - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/mental-health-at-the-intersections\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mental Health at the Intersections - GAYFRIENDSCHAT.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mental Health at the Intersections Post submitted by George Johnson, writer and activist Mental health is still a taboo topic across Black communities. 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