Health & Wellness

“Black people don’t commit suicide. That’s a white thing!”

"Black people don’t commit suicide. That’s a white thing." Who said that? That is a false statement. Blacks suffer from mental illness just like their white counterparts. In fact, when you think of everyday stressors, systematic-racism such as police brutality,...

Faith communities offer a pathway to ending AIDS in Africa

(RNS) — Since the earliest days of the AIDS epidemic, many communities of faith have supported millions of people living with HIV and kept future generations free from HIV through their prevention efforts. Their engagement on the front lines of health, especially in...

What the Movies Don’t Show You About the Psychiatric Unit

I remember repeatedly telling my friends I did not want to go to the psychiatric hospital for months. I was terrified and I did not want to be labeled as “crazy.” Every time someone asked if they should call the police, I said “no.” Who would? After attempting...

Beyond the Lights: Celebrities and Mental Illness

As the conversation of mental health and illness gradually comes to the forefront of national attention, the month of May is the perfect time to raise awareness. For some reason, we tend to stigmatize mental illness and do not see it as a “real” or life-threatening...

7 Tips to Help Manage Depression and Anxiety

Dealing with a mental illness is never easy but with the proper strategies and tools, you can learn to manage your mental health while living a happy life. Self-care is the root for coping with mental illness. I never understood the meaning of self-care until I was...

Saving Our Sisters: Breaking the Silence on Black Women And Health

I’ve seen too many women die over the past few months. Women that had so much life left to live. Women that had virtually conquered the world and transformed lives. Women who were gone too soon. I took their deaths personally. I was angry that I didn’t know about...

Saved and Depressed: A Real Conversation About Faith and Mental Health

When you see a man walking down the street talking to himself, what is your first thought? Most likely it’s, “He is crazy!” What about the lady at the bus stop yelling strange phases? You immediately become guarded and move as far away from her as possible. I know...

Feeding your temple: Body, Mind, and Spirit

In college, I was quite the busy-body. I found my self-worth in participating in every possible activity, club, and organization. I was in the band, played tennis, and a member of student council. I was also a member of the student television news station, volunteered...

Stories of Suicide and the Faith Community

The idea of suicide is absolutely unthinkable to most. However, if you look at it through the eyes of someone in the darkness of depression, the anxiety of schizophrenia, the confusion of bi-polar disorder and so many others, many people may consider ending it all to...

What Black Millennials Need to Know about Breast Cancer

Breast cancer is often associated with older women. However, young women are not exempt. Although October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness of the disease, many women still take their health for granted, particularly millennials....

The Simple and Hard Facts About Being a Healthy Black Person

Being healthy is pretty simple, but most people in the United States find it pretty hard. And for an African American, it's over-the-top hard. Not only is the struggle of getting healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle embedded in the culture, but there are...