Mental Health Check: Am I Okay? Well… It Depends On the Day

How are you, Honeys? REALLY.

Tracee Ellis Ross in black-ish (2014-2022)

I’ve always been known as a transparent person on the internet. To me, it’s a mutual benefit—my openness has helped others and it helps me to lean into my expanded community during tough times. Whether it was via blogs or social media, I’ve taken my internet playcousins on my “leap of faith” journey from Chicago to Los Angeles, my evolution from law firm admin to Entertainment Writer, and the layoff/financial struggles, in between. My ongoing mantra is, “Y’all ain’t never gonna be able to call me an ‘Overnight Success’ because I’ll have receipts!” And yet, I’m sure they’ll do it anyway, because it makes for a sexier headline. The transparent brand is strong.

So, since May is Mental Health Awareness Month, of course I have to add my thoughts since… *gestures at everything going on these days*

Two things in particular recently jolted my inspiration even further:

1. TV Writer Caroline Renard wrote this prompt about giving a truly honest answer to a common question: Are you ok?

2. Ms. Tina Knowles mentioned her experience with EMDR on an episode of the popular podcast, THE READ.

So, WTF is EMDR? I wrote more about it in-depth during my tenure at THE ROOT, but to sum it up, it stands for Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing and it’s a form of psychotherapy used to treat trauma-related disorders such as PTSD. Meghan Sussex’s prince hubby champions the process, too. I’m looking to continue my EMDR-therapy once I find a Black woman therapist match—which has been a unique hunt in and of itself.