Mental Health Vol. Lets talk about it

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I think its important to make mental health not such a taboo of a topic. Many people treat it as something they never talk about but we all go through ups and downs and making it a regular conversation is important imo.
I feel like you have to have ur physical health and mental health both be consistent to stay balanced

Sometimes when I'm going thru it I will take a random day off work and go do something chill like the movies the beach or something where I can just unwind and it helps me.

What are some ways you guys maintain a strong mental health?

have you seen a therapist? how do you find therapists? I feel like a yelp for therapists should exist somewhere online
 
Everybody should utilize a therapist. It’s no different than seeing a medical doctor.

One of the best resource to find one fitting for you is:

 
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Have seen a therapist for 3-4 years off and on. It was free through my old job.

I’ve always dealt with depression/anxiety for years and was in pretty good ‘control’ of it from 19-33 or so, without meds. Then there was a week of panic attacks at work, going for walks, gym, working from home didn’t work. By Friday, I was over the edge, I called my PCP and got in the next Monday. Tested off the charts for depression and acute anxiety. He prescribed Ativan, and lexapro, and advised I follow up with a therapist. All of that was a sequence of choices that were the best decisions I’ve made I. My adult life.

the stigma in the black community and growing up, it being considered ‘crazy’ to see professionals made me procrastinate for over a decade, also THE COSTS, unfortunately . I was too afraid to address past traumas and lift the veil off the shh in my head.

now I know most, if not all my triggers. And straight up, they don’t bother me anymore, they don’t throw me into a downward spiral of negative thoughts and adverse actions. And if they do appear, I talk myself off the ledge much easier than before.

I could go on for days, it’s funny, because some many people don’t want to talk about things like this, so it’s crazy to see mental health on the forefront of news, and social dialogue.

One of the things that pushed me over the edge to finally get a therapist, my friend from Denmark visited and was casually telling me about her bouts with depression and anxiety, she said at one point she was sleeping with her parents at 19 years old l, because she was too afraid of being alone. To me, she was a normal af, highly functioning individual, so I would’ve never guessed she dealt with that (most are) but she went on about everyone in Denmark sees a shrink, and pop ‘happy pills’… tongue n cheek, tbh, but that’s not the first time I heard that about all of Scandinavia. I figured if my friend could do it, and she’s living her best life, then what’s stopping me? The rest is history. Peace.

hell, I used to get triggered from stuff I saw/read on the internet, NT, social media, etc.. That should literally never happen to anyone, but it’s the nature of the beast. IMO, the absolute main thing setting the black community up for failure, is lack of therapy: access to health professionals, the stigmas surrounding it, etc.. The system would hate for us to be mentally healed people. /rant
 
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Get what you need and don’t be ashamed to say it. Most people go out life trying to hide things, that’s just not the way to do it. Be vocal with it, let people know what’s going on. Every little bit helps.
 
Have seen a therapist for 3-4 years off and on. It was free through my old job.

I’ve always dealt with depression/anxiety for years and was in pretty good ‘control’ of it from 19-33 or so, without meds. Then there was a week of panic attacks at work, going for walks, gym, working from home didn’t work. By Friday, I was over the edge, I called my PCP and got in the next Monday. Tested off the charts for depression and acute anxiety.

I'm curious how do they test someone for depression or anxiety?

My girl's doctor told her she has anxiety and doctor recommended she see a professional to talk to but she was unwilling to.
 
Everybody should utilize a therapist. It’s no different than seeing a medical doctor.

One of the best resource to find one fitting for you is:


I used this site to find a therapist back in like January that I was trying to set something up with. Ultimately I ended up not doing it because my insurance didn’t cover any of it and I felt virtual wouldn’t have the same effect as in person.
I also feel like I definitely am affected by seasonal depression living in Michigan, this time of year I tend to feel fine.

I may end up still seeing a therapist at some point, I know a lot of people say great things. Being a person who feels like I’m too self aware, also results in me being a little bit stubborn about it, but I still think I could benefit.
 
I'm curious how do they test someone for depression or anxiety?

My girl's doctor told her she has anxiety and doctor recommended she see a professional to talk to but she was unwilling to.
I can’t speak on anxiety but there’s not really a conventional test for depression.

There’s a set amount of criteria for a depression diagnosis and the patient has to have at least a certain amount of them. Some criteria hold more weight than others I assume. The feeling somber all day criterium surely isn’t on the same level as the sudden weight loss one.

The ‘test’ is to simply to talk to the patient, ask certain questions and determine from the conversation(s) whether enough criteria were met.


Bit of gravedig but I think it’s important to have a thread like this.
 
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I can’t speak on anxiety but there’s not really a conventional test for depression.

There’s a set amount of criteria for a depression diagnosis and the patient has to have at least a certain amount of them. Some criteria hold more weight than others I assume. The feeling somber all day criterium surely isn’t on the same level as the sudden weight loss one.

The ‘test’ is to simply to talk to the patient, ask certain questions and determine from the conversation(s) whether enough criteria were met.


Bit of gravedig but I think it’s important to have a thread like this.
very important my slime

I been seeing a therapist shortly after this thread and even reached out to someone who was going through some tough times to see therapy.

It definitely helps but is not one and done.
 
Crazy coincidence this thread came back up today. Today was one of those days where I’m definitely feeling a little down.

My first child will be here before the month is over, and of course I’m very excited but I think I’m getting sad over thinking of how life used to be and those days are over. I know that’s a selfish way of thinking, life will just be a little different now.

I also think society brings me down, I try not to let it get to me. But I’m sad that things like the vaccine have cause a riff in a friendship. I guess it’s the way it is but today I’m really missing pre covid days (I know we all miss those days.)

Hopefully I snap out of it before tomorrow. Back to work :smile:
 
Crazy coincidence this thread came back up today. Today was one of those days where I’m definitely feeling a little down.

My first child will be here before the month is over, and of course I’m very excited but I think I’m getting sad over thinking of how life used to be and those days are over. I know that’s a selfish way of thinking, life will just be a little different now.

I also think society brings me down, I try not to let it get to me. But I’m sad that things like the vaccine have cause a riff in a friendship. I guess it’s the way it is but today I’m really missing pre covid days (I know we all miss those days.)

Hopefully I snap out of it before tomorrow. Back to work :smile:
I came in this thread and back on NT after a little hiatus cuz I too for some reason feel pretty down today.

kinda wanna be in my turtle shell today
 
I recently inactivated my IG due to my depression kicking up. I’ve battled on and off depression since high school. I had it under control for years but it’s recently made a jump back into my life after my dad left for the second time. And for good.

Trying to keep it under control. One day at a time. I’ve seen a therapist. It went well.
 
Thinking about seeing a therapist. My mom's death has hit me hard. I've already been on Anti Deprrssants for a few years now but they aren't helping. I'm not suicidal or anything like that, life just sucks and I just don't care about much of anything anymore. I got life insurance recently to make sure my wife is taken care of if I die but that's about all that I care about.
 
Thinking about seeing a therapist. My mom's death has hit me hard. I've already been on Anti Deprrssants for a few years now but they aren't helping. I'm not suicidal or anything like that, life just sucks and I just don't care about much of anything anymore. I got life insurance recently to make sure my wife is taken care of if I die but that's about all that I care about.
Take some time to find a good therapist for YOU. Everyone needs different types of therapists.. it took me years to find the right one. But when I did, it took me maybe 5-6 sessions to see mental results. Trust bro.

Sorry about your Moms, also. :/
 
Take some time to find a good therapist for YOU. Everyone needs different types of therapists.. it took me years to find the right one. But when I did, it took me maybe 5-6 sessions to see mental results. Trust bro.

Sorry about your Moms, also. :/

Thank you so much. My NT family has really helped me get through. I will definitely look into it
 
Any of y’all have experience with bipolar disorder? One of my coworkers, who has become a close friend since meeting her earlier this year, has been acting very weird today and I can’t make sense of it. She had suicidal thoughts a few months ago and got addicted to coke but quit a week or 2 ago.

We were texting earlier and she came off as awfully hyperactive and kinda confused so I told her I was concerned. Then I got spammed the following texts all immediately after eachother without me replying, each sentence as an individual text.:stoneface:
“But I’m just vibiiiing, come on I’m fine
I’m MC Amy I bring the vibes
And I’m kinda DJing between the different vibes on display
But it looks like I landed at the wrong party
Ayeee
Ooh I gotta shower, I still smell like sex haha
Well if you could call that sex
Ugh
Women
You know how they are”

WTF am I reading? Again, she hasn’t been diagnosed with anything aside from depression earlier this year but I imagine this must be what a manic episode is like
 
I recently inactivated my IG due to my depression kicking up. I’ve battled on and off depression since high school. I had it under control for years but it’s recently made a jump back into my life after my dad left for the second time. And for good.

Trying to keep it under control. One day at a time. I’ve seen a therapist. It went well.

reach out anytime my G we all go through stuff lets make it normal to talk about it fam <3 I have been using betterhelp for remote therapy so far so good
Thinking about seeing a therapist. My mom's death has hit me hard. I've already been on Anti Deprrssants for a few years now but they aren't helping. I'm not suicidal or anything like that, life just sucks and I just don't care about much of anything anymore. I got life insurance recently to make sure my wife is taken care of if I die but that's about all that I care about.

Like i mentioned above betterhelp is a nice way to do remote therapy if u not ready to see someone face to face..

First and foremost, my condolences for your mother's death. death is one of the hardest things to understand its just pain. and mental paint== physical pain its scientifically proven so take care of urself G.

I have similar feelings, I don't care about much even though I feel blessed to have the things i have and know the people i know I go through these times where I'm like if i pass I pass on to the next and it sucks
 
Any of y’all have experience with bipolar disorder? One of my coworkers, who has become a close friend since meeting her earlier this year, has been acting very weird today and I can’t make sense of it. She had suicidal thoughts a few months ago and got addicted to coke but quit a week or 2 ago.

We were texting earlier and she came off as awfully hyperactive and kinda confused so I told her I was concerned. Then I got spammed the following texts all immediately after eachother without me replying, each sentence as an individual text.:stoneface:
“But I’m just vibiiiing, come on I’m fine
I’m MC Amy I bring the vibes
And I’m kinda DJing between the different vibes on display
But it looks like I landed at the wrong party
Ayeee
Ooh I gotta shower, I still smell like sex haha
Well if you could call that sex
Ugh
Women
You know how they are”

WTF am I reading? Again, she hasn’t been diagnosed with anything aside from depression earlier this year but I imagine this must be what a manic episode is like
My wife has bipolar. You are correct it sounds like she’s in manic. Bipolar-depression is a common thing. She needs to get diagnosed for possible bipolar-depression and get on an appropriate medication to help her manage the bipolar sides of things.
 
Yep just showed that to my wife and asked her opinion.. she said the same but said that due to the Coke use that it can’t be diagnosed :/
 
Any of y’all have experience with bipolar disorder? One of my coworkers, who has become a close friend since meeting her earlier this year, has been acting very weird today and I can’t make sense of it. She had suicidal thoughts a few months ago and got addicted to coke but quit a week or 2 ago.

We were texting earlier and she came off as awfully hyperactive and kinda confused so I told her I was concerned. Then I got spammed the following texts all immediately after eachother without me replying, each sentence as an individual text.:stoneface:
“But I’m just vibiiiing, come on I’m fine
I’m MC Amy I bring the vibes
And I’m kinda DJing between the different vibes on display
But it looks like I landed at the wrong party
Ayeee
Ooh I gotta shower, I still smell like sex haha
Well if you could call that sex
Ugh
Women
You know how they are”

WTF am I reading? Again, she hasn’t been diagnosed with anything aside from depression earlier this year but I imagine this must be what a manic episode is like
Yeah that's pretty textbook flight of ideas, which is a feature of manic episodes.
 
Yep just showed that to my wife and asked her opinion.. she said the same but said that due to the Coke use that it can’t be diagnosed :/
Thanks, I appreciate the advice. The irony is that she's actually close to getting her master's degree in psychology herself. She has good grades and just needs to finish and defend her thesis.
At least she already follows therapy, both in general and specifically for the coke problem now.
It's the first time I've seen her act this way, though again I've only known her since January this year.

What seems especially concerning today is that she doesn't seem to want to acknowledge that she's behaving really strangely today. Constantly trying to deny, deflect, change topics, ...
Normally she's very open with me, I was and still am the sole person she told about her suicidal thoughts problem earlier this year. I did repeatedly pressure her to at the very least also tell her psychiatrist but she got better pretty quickly after telling me and then had a consistently happy streak of a good few months so I stopped bringing it up. Then the coke got out of control all of a sudden and things took a nosedive again.
I'm not sure today if she's lying to me or to herself.
 
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I think throughout this pandemic, I've played down the fact that my mental is off. Just kept going through my routine, especially because I've been blessed to be able to wfh since last March. Felt things start to be a little off when I think to myself. Just little things here and there. A few days ago I finally admitted to myself that I'm not 100% there all the time, and it's okay. Can't suppress those feelings at all. I'm definitely not the type to tell folks when something is off with me, just how I've always been. Got a dope girl who will listen to any and everything when somethings off. But I know I had to reach out to other black men and just talk. Been talking to my pops, trying to get back to basics. Got a homie who just listens, and man, I know that's rare to have these days. Legit almost made me tear up just thinking about it.

Long story short, none of us are there all the way right now, might not be for a long time. It's okay to be down, just don't suppress it. Acknowledge it and attack it.
 
I dealt with extreme depression in HS (im 33 now) and on and off anxiety. I tried seeing a sports therapist in college but I would always be like "why would I tell a stranger my thoughts". I keep everything bottled up inside. like why make my problems someone else's problems. what my homies have done are "homie retreats" we will just go somewhere for a weekend. grill . activities. but also have zoom workshops. no wives kids or outsiders. which helps if you're anti therapist like myself


I have a friend who was super tight with in hs. I believe he's got major bi polar issues which pain me to say. I need to figure out a way to get him some help
 
I hung out with my wife's childhood friend who is bipolar and it was rough. She was all over the place. Combine thst with liquor and she was getting us into fights I wanted nothing to do with. That was one of my first attempts to go out in the covid era and it was not pleasant. Back to being a hermit it is.
 
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