Black men, vulnerability and depression.

[old_timer]

I am not going to mock or debate people who advocate spending time/energy emoting

But when you have a chance.. and you're in a good patch..
Try to really assess whether "talking things out" is actually that wonderful of a solution

Nowadays people eagerly advocate meditation and therapy..
For real- Is the effectiveness of these activities proven,,
A mere placebo..
Or perhaps even detrimental
(And even if it helps MOST people.. you might be in the minority)

smokers think cigarettes calm them down.. junkies think a dose of heroin cures their "sickness"
Maybe showcasing your emotions and oversharing is a similar cycle???

Just think on it..
Oversharing leads to more oversharing,, and pretty soon you can't function without time consuming rituals and sometimes become dependent on external direction of people who pay THEIR bills by having you as a customer

 

[luciddreamer]

Pretty sure I have social anxiety.....

 

[HE_Pennypacker]

It's from low self-esteem. The fear of showing any sort of vulnerability or moments of weakness come from over compensation.

Self-destructive behaviour is a natural consequence. We're under constant pressure and it's beyond a shame that we don't hold each other up. But do we even know how to do it?

We should be each other's crutches

 

[ZoeGod]

So what is the solution? I have the belief that as black men there is no time to get in touch with our emotions. We are living in the US which is a racist society. We are surrounded by the vast majority of white people who wants us dead. Talking about our emotions and how we feel is not getting us nowhere. In the grand scheme of things this isn't going to help us reach liberation and independence. Nobody cares about your emotions. We live in a cruel ruthless cold world where no one cares about you opening up and getting into your feelings.

 

[EffYou]

 

[iFightSeagullsForBread]

I wanna hug all of you.

 

[audemarzz]

So what is the solution? I have the belief that as black men there is no time to get in touch with our emotions. We are living in the US which is a racist society. We are surrounded by the vast majority of white people who wants us dead. Talking about our emotions and how we feel is not getting us nowhere. In the grand scheme of things this isn't going to help us reach liberation and independence. Nobody cares about your emotions. We live in a cruel ruthless cold world where no one cares about you opening up and getting into your feelings.

Oh I don't disagree on this notion but I think we at least need a moment to kind of express this shyt; I'm ready and willing anytime something jump off ain't like if I express myself I become physically weaker talking about this didn't ease or tighten white supremacy grasp on shyt . . sometimes even black men need a moment to think on shyt before we get back to the bullshyt that is reality.

if ever that moment pop off when we need to fight for something worthwhile I'll be there

 

[Prynce]

Can I get a plat? @Barnett114 @Supreme Leader Reinscarf. I really wanna have this discussion

 

[audemarzz]

Can I get a plat? @Barnett114 @Supreme Leader Reinscarf. I really wanna have this discussion

yeah its needed the bruh @gragra expressed the need for a thread discussing mental illness/depression something unrelated to random thoughts because a lot of brothers and sisters go through it . .

 

[audemarzz]

I believe opening ourselves up can only make us better as men, maybe that's the piece we been missing shyt we been holding shyt in for how long and look at the position we in . . being masculine as fukk has only contributed to more violence among ourselves . . I ain't saying we need to wear rainbow colored tees . . side-note my tolerance to strong these drinks hardly do shyt for me now . .

 

[godkiller]

Black men who go to the gym, interview for good jobs in a suit, take care of what they eat, read books, etc aren't depressed. Happiness, friends, is a frame of mind.

 

[Rarely-Wrong Liggins]

I told a woman this today; no one gives a fukk about us. We are just supposed to be machines and take on the burdens of a broken community, broken women, broken children. We have to fight against every other race. We have to protect the women and children from the seemingly endless predators in our own community and no one appreciates it and we're just supposed to fukking grin and bear it. I asked her; who the fukk cares about a black man's problem?

"Someone does."

"Oh yeah, who?"

"I do."



Y'all need to start showing it more.

 

[AITheAnswerAI]

I don't feel like crying to anyone about anything, i'm too focused on my goals. Yeah there are racial dynamics that may make certain things harder, for sure, but crying about it won't solve it.

The world can be a shytty place, I just try to find enjoyment wherever I can. A big thing that will help you, is not giving a fukk what others think about you. However that's not possible for many people.

 

[Paradise50]

I work in mental health as a black man, and the reason I wanted to was because I felt like we as black men don't have that avenue. The stigma around mental health needs to change, especially now. We've literally seen fellow black men lynched in HD on social media multiple times over the past few years. If we fail to find our place in this society, we can't fall back on government resources like a lot of black women can. We literally are born into the worst odds in this country. We deal w/ stressors from all avenues growing up: sws school teachers, being the man of the house early, and the stereotypical role our own community try to force us in.

I dealt w/ moderate depression when I hit rock bottom about 4 years ago. Had no idea that I was until I look back at it now . Even now I have mild depression here and there. Lately I haven't been sleeping well, and I was stressing if a DUI I got last year was gonna cause me to get rejected from clinical in the lpn-rn program. Luckily it all cleared, and I've been sleeping better. I also I started getting back in the gym, and been feeling well the past few days.



All in all protect your mental health, work on coping skills, and other methods. Try to make anti depressants your last option if possible. I've never been on one, and if I ever needed to I would. A lot have side effects I wouldn't want to deal with (decreased libido and weight gain). Preventative measures ftw

 

[Paradise50]

Also be honest with yourself if you are depressed. Not being in denial does wonders, be comfortable with your feelings. It sounds soft, but it's something I had to learn when I was 26ish-27 (I'm 30 now btw).

Also if you're always whining, complaining, and venting on social media = you need to dramatically decrease your use.

Too many people use social media indirectly to cope, and it doesn't work.