Kanye West, Idris Elba And Black Men Openly Embracing Therapy

Source: Kubkoo / Getty & The stigma surrounding mental health in the Black community is one that took us a very long time to shake from a cultural perspective. For too long, many Black men and women alike suffered in silence out of fear of being judged, ostracized, viewed as a threat to society or called the worst word that you can use to describe anyone struggling with their mental health: “crazy.” That’s why the recent surge in normalizing something as simple as seeking therapy is one huge societal step forward for the culture in general. However, where the ladies of our community have always been more in-tune with their emotions, and also have female-centered outlets like The View to reflect their ideals back at them, Black men often don’t have those similar safe spaces to discuss societal pressures like masculinity, financial stability and/or a need to be the bread-winner of a household. You tend to see a difference in character based on those who embrace therapy compared to the many men who still avoid it. We saw both sides to the spectrum of Black men dealing with mental health in the public recently with separate conversations surrounding A-list actor...