There are so many different versions of therapy! For me therapy is crying my eyes out in a dark closet in my room, then taking a steaming hot shower, complete with a skin care routine of massaging my full body with my 54thrones Egyptian lavender and Moroccan mint body butter and cleansing my face with my Yelle skincare system. And that’s not all. I have to finish the session up by burning my sage and palo santos stick and lighting up my vanilla scented candle. Moments later, whatever had caused my previous distress or meltdown didn’t matter suddenly. Now that’s Therapy (HAHA)! But of course, that doesn’t work every time! If I’m being completely honest sometimes therapy for me is also hitting up my favorite sneaky link for a late-night vent session and Netflix and chill vibe- I know it sounds extremely toxic but sometimes IT WORKS! I mean who doesn’t enjoy a night in the romping shop with your favorite n*gga! 😊 Don’t judge me, I know you’ve been there before (LOL)!
Then there’s the REAL therapy sessions. You know the one where we pay a professional to sit and tell our problems to and then they give us some resources and tools to work through those problems. I’ve been there. It was effective, I’m not going to lie. Sometimes it’s much needed. Especially considering the type of world we live in today where the mental health of the black community has led to significant disparities and people not seeking mental health care because of the stigma around it. And forget it if you’re a black woman. For Black women, mental health challenges are often multiplied by the disparities of both race and gender. We’re told to be strong and resilient not matter what we face or how we feel. And sometimes honestly speaking we’re not aware of our emotions. I know for me during those moments when I was sad, anxious, and even sometimes lonely I wasn’t aware that my emotions could be a symptom of anxiety or depression until I started to do my own research and found the courage to ignore the stigma of being a “Strong Black Woman” and decided to seek professional help.
Professional therapy works but you definitely have to be open and willing to be honest about your shit and be honest to your therapist so that they can really help you work through your issues.
Oh, and my favorite type of therapy session- My spiritual kickbacks! Those are so needed and does a number on me; I can’t even explain. Cleaning my space, playing some light jazz instrumental music on my Alexa, turning my phone off (disconnecting from the world is a must), sipping on a cup of warm peppermint tea, meditating, praying, and grabbing my pen and journal to write my thoughts and aspirations away. This is therapy for me, and it works. It gets me right back focused and fuels me up to keep going. Being able to connect with the universe and with God on a deeper level is extremely important. Not just for success purposes but for SELF! Let me explain further! It’s quite simple.
God is there to provide, protect, and guide. Usually anytime I say a prayer I typically ask God to provide, protect and guide me. Having a deeper connection to God allows us to get answers to all our problems. They are so many distractions around us today, which can lead to us being disconnected from God. I’ve been there several times, within relationships, jobs, etc. But I always find my way right back to him. I’m also big on praying consistently, fasting, meditating, and giving back. Those four things always help me stay in tune and gives me a deeper connection and alignment with God and the universe.
My connection to God, led me to finding my true self. And it’s so interesting to me that having a deeper and spiritual connection to God also allowed me to feel centered, true to myself and empowered to make changes to improve my life and the lives of others.
Listen, I’ve been there! All the way there! Postpartum Depression there, wanted to end my life there! And it was my spiritual connection with God that pulled me out of all those dark places when the tools from my therapist didn’t work, when crying my eyes out in those dark closets didn’t work, when Netflix and chilling with my sneaky link didn’t work! GOD WORKED- in me, through me and with me through every moment until I was completely back to myself.
So go head girl, DO THERAPY! 😊