July is BIPOC* Mental Health Month. Race/ethnicity CAN factor into mental health and there’s definitely a need for more access, awareness, and education on the lived experience of BIPOC people. In this blog post, I share why this is important to me & resources to access mental health services.
*BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous, People of Color
Why is BIPOC Mental Health Important to me?
BIPOC Mental health is important as someone who identifies as a black woman. I grew up as a military child with BOTH parents serving over 20 years in the Air Force. I also grew up going to Christian-based churches, so you can say that many pieces of my identity are a part of groups that don’t [tend to] openly talk about mental health and feelings often. While it IS getting better, I do feel that this conversation is worth having among people of color, women, and spiritual communities.
OK So how can I cope with challenging mental health days?
- Recognize if you are not feeling ok today and honor that. Admitting that you’re not ok is NOT a sign of weakness.
- Take action to do something about it, whether it is talking to a counselor or practicing self care.
- Check out and try out one or more of the resources below:
Resources
- The Crisis Text Line: A texting service with trained crisis counselors to respond back to you. Whether you are feeling depressed, battling anxiety or just having a tough time text “Home” to 741741 for free 24/7 support. Website: https://www.crisistextline.org/
- 7 Cups.com: Sometimes, we just need someone to listen without judgment or bias. 7 Cups is a community of trained listeners who provide anonymous and free emotional support. You can speak with listeners through the messaging feature both online OR on their mobile app. Website: https://www.7cups.com/
- Letters Against Depression: This non-profit organization focuses on supporting those with depression and other mental illnesses one letter at a time. You can request to have letters written to you through their website. Volunteers will then be able to send you letters of hope right to your mailbox 📬 Website: http://www.lettersagainst.org/
- If you are a college student, I would definitely recommend checking into resources such as counseling that are available to you on campus.
I wanted to highlight free and easily accessible resources, but if you are in a serious crisis, I would recommend seeing a professional immediately as they are better equipped to help.
Chrissy is a professional in Higher Education and has been in the field for 4.5 years. She currently works in Career Services full-time by day and by evening/weekend she is the host of the Bliss with Chriss podcast. This podcast focuses on college, careers, and life in your 20’s. She enjoys being able to use her platform to empower others in sharing their stories and educating listeners.
Chrissy is currently taking classes for a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling and hopes to eventually become a licensed professional counselor and continue to work with college students and maybe own her own practice. In her spare time, Chrissy likes to try new food/restaurants, scroll through TikTok and watch documentaries on Netflix/Hulu.
Great to list resoures. I love the letter idea.
It really is! I’m so glad she shared this information for you guys!
I did not know there was a specific BIPOC mental health month. Thanks for spreading awareness, and for sending the message that it’s totally OKAY to need support. Sometimes just knowing what is available to us is the biggest barrier to improving mental health, and the resources on here seem like really interesting approaches that I was not familiar with. Thanks again for sharing!
I wasn’t aware either! I’m so glad Chrissy shared this information with you guys and myself. I’m glad she provided the resources as well…they’re so helpful! Thanks for reading!