In October we continue to bring awareness to Mental Health

Hey protected babe,

I pray that everyone is feeling amazing and empowered after our Self-September Challenge. It was a honor to dedicate an entire month to myself and share my journey along with you. What started off as a way of personal expression and healing for myself GOD allowed me to connect with so many different individuals. Thank you to everyone that sent me personal text messages, emails and wrote me on social media about how Self-September impacted you. As stated in week 4 of Self-September, just because the month of September is over does not mean self-care should stop.

As a mental health counselor, advocate and ambassador I wanted to share some information with you guys in regard to the month of October. October is domestic violence awareness month, Mental Illness Awareness Week is acknowledged from October 1st through October 7th. October 10th is acknowledged as World Mental Health Day. Last month there were several conversations that I had the opportunity to be apart of, that got on the topic of Mental Health and Mental Illness. For those that may not know the difference mental health is always there and may be positive or negative, mental illness affects a person's ability to function over a long period of time.

Going to GOD and therapy about all that I've been experiencing with my mental health, while walking in my purpose to co-create the plan GOD created for me is what led me to start this blog. Those of you that have been following my blog entries since the first post I appreciate you and thank you a million for being with me along my journey. For all of my new readers the blog posts are up if you haven't had the chance to read them. As a black woman I wear many hats daily. Outside of my main priority of being a mom, I am also a daughter, sister, friend, mentor, coach and I play many different roles in my current position as a Mental Health Counselor. Always educating myself on each role I play in the lives of others and the role I play in my life, I stumbled upon a book titled "Black Women's Mental Health (BALANCING STRENGTH AND VULNERABILITY)" Edited by: STEPHANIE Y. EVANS, KANIKA BELL, AND NSENGA K. BURTON. As I began to read there was something that was unique to me. The label of being a Strong Black Woman and A Bitter Black Woman. The editors expressed that black women can actually be both. To be clear, there is a critical distinction between being a Black woman who is strong (mentally, physically, or otherwise) and being a StrongBlackWoman. The spacing between the words Strong, Black, and Woman is intentional, signaling that the StrongBlackWoman is a very specific way of being in the world. Reading that made me look at myself a little deeper. Yes I am a Strong, yes I am a Black and yes I am a Woman, but it's not an easy nor a simple task. I had to become a strong black woman to navigate the world around me which causes my mental health to fluctuate at times. Sometimes when we become strong we start to operate out of survival mode instead of truly understanding how to live and thrive. When we are in that survival mode it really doesn't leave space for us to be in a soft era. During some of the journeys a black woman have to encounter through life can make one bitter because of the weight of the world seems to be on her shoulders. With the lack of understanding or the lack of like minded individuals surrounded her can make her journey a painful one, but when there is pain there is power.

I knew that the weight of managing many different roles was becoming too much for me to carry alone is why I partnered with GOD. In 1 Peter 5:7 says to "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." GOD loves us too much to allow us to carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. GOD is simply waiting with open arms, but we have to take the first step. When I went to GOD with my worries and anxiety I realized there were some areas I needed assistance with. I didn't want to go to my friends or family to learn how to navigate through these feelings, I knew I needed a professional. When I need to be grounded in spirit I go straight to the source GOD. So dealing with my emotions, trauma, and learning how to equip myself with the proper tools to continue to function and thrive, I knew I needed to go to someone properly educated to help educate me which lead me to go therapy. Asking for help can be scary sometimes - trust me I know, but when it comes to our mental health we have to be proactive and get the help we need. As black women it is important to not only partner with GOD, but to also seek professional help. Asking for help or seeking help is a form of self-care and self-love. Love yourself enough to allow yourself to BREATH.

In the book "Black Women's Mental Health" they broke down what BREATH means to them and I wanted to share with all of you Protected Babes. Remember this platform was catered as a safe space for those that are in/on their mental health journey while co-creating their life with GOD and walk in their purpose.

The BREATHE model is defined as follows:

B—Balance: Engage in the purposeful repositioning of one’s commitments such that all priorities are addressed. Conflict is inevitable; balance comes from purposeful conflict management.

R—Reflection: Set aside time for contemplation and performing emotional and cognitive audits. Reflection is one moment in time that looks in three directions: reflection looks backward for wisdom, looks inward for strength, and looks forward in hope and faith.

E—Energy: Reinvigorate goals and set upon a path toward achieving them. Energy is maintained via affirmation. Black women must not just acknowledge, but celebrate their own hard work and efforts to minimize the energy-depleting impact of negative evaluation. Once this pattern of “wins” is established, inner peace is easier to attain and sustain.

A—Association: Create and maintain social networks that promote, affirm, and encourage wellness. Associations negate feelings of isolation and provide an outlet for a population that routinely feels misunderstood.

T—Transparency: Actively avoid remaining silent about painful experiences. Balancing strength and vulnerability requires that we pay special attention to our vulnerabilities so we may raise our voices to articulate clearly our needs.

H—Healing: Look for ways to nurture wellness in self and others. The term healing is purposefully chosen as a component of the proposed model because “health” cannot occur without it. Health is not something one has or does not have; it is a constantly evolving process

E—Empowerment: Enlist one’s own agency by accessing internal power sources and taking ownership of one’s own wellness. The process of empowerment is the reclamation of authority over your own well-being.

Along with the BREATHE model I'm going to leave something else for you guys because I truly believe self-care is the maintenance required to maintaining optimal mental health. During a therapy session I got introduced to a way to pour into myself weekly and monthly. So here's what you have to do to do the same:

Find out what day of the week you were born on. Celebrate yourself weekly on that day. That's a day to dedicate solely to self. (Doing an activity is optional, but celebrating yourself is mandatory)

Next you're going to buy yourself a birthday card monthly on the date you were born. (You can buy yourself a cake, a gift, but the card is mandatory)

For example I was born on a Monday which was the 7th, so every 7th of the month I have to buy myself a birthday card and celebrate myself every Monday.

It was many request made to keep the weekly updates of blog post so moving forward all of you protected babes will be receiving a weekly newsletter.

As always I pray that this blog post helps you in one or more areas. Remember to stay in prayer, stay in peace, stay intentional, but most importantly stay Protected & Paid.

Sheema W.

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