All the reasons why black people avoid going to therapy (and the one BIG reason why you shouldn’t).

How often did we as black people hear that therapy was for either those who are rich or “crazy” (sometimes a combination of both) while we were growing up? Or perhaps, we are hesitant to seek out therapy because it’s so difficult to find a therapist who looks like us and who will understand us? Or perhaps, it’s because we were always told “What you crying for? If you don’t stop crying, I’m gonna give you something to cry about!” so we are conditioned from an early age to bottle up our feelings and not to express them.

This is especially true for all the black boys & men in our community. I get it. I was the same way. For a long time, many of us considered therapy to be a “luxury”. Many of us also considered therapy to be useless because we questioned how a “stranger” can help us fix our problems.

Fortunately, the number of black people seeking out mental health services has increased in the current years, but there is still so much more work that needs to be done to break down the barriers and stigma of therapy.

Mental health is just that, “HEALTH”. It’s no different from your physical health and it constantly needs to be exercised in order to be healthy as well. Just like a physical check-up, a mental check-up is always a great benefit to everyone, and seeing a mental health professional is just as important as seeing your doctor. We, as black people, shouldn’t neglect our physical health just as we shouldn’t neglect our mental health. If you need to, get in contact with a mental health professional today. You will be doing yourself a great service and you will find that your life will be happier and more fulfilling in the long run.