A Black Girl Ranting

mental illness is a thing

Mental illness DOES exist.  Prior to contrary belief.

It isn't just a feeling or a phase. It isn't an attitude problem. Sure you can get moody BECAUSE of the mental illness, but the mental illness itself is NOT an attitude problem.

It isn't a religious problem. Maybe with the guidance of your faith it could be easier for them, but religion ITSELF is not a cure. I'm sorry but simply praying it goes away isn't going to make it go away just like that. Mental illness doesn't just go away, sometimes it stays forever. You just have to find the proper way to handle it because there is no cure.

So please ... I don't know if there are black parents who are going to see this here on Wattpad, but if you have a parent who won't listen to you maybe they'll listen to someone who understands how it feels ... If your child seems "out of it" and/or "moody" everyday, just check on them. Ask them if everything is okay. 

Don't get angry at them or upset if they say something you personally don't like and brush it off like it's something that can be fixed. Comfort them. You're a parent and your job as a parent is not only to teach them right from wrong but also nurture and comfort them and make them feel safe.

Brushing it off as if it is nothing makes them feel as if they are nothing. As if you don't care. Seriously there is nothing wrong with showing your child you love them by hugging and talking to them. It isn't a crime. This is the time where being a friend to your child is necessary because if you act like an uptight parent, you will never be trusted again. 

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Stemming away from the parent thing though ... if you think mental illness is fake and is not an illness because "it's all in their head" then you must not know what a mental illness is. Of course it's all in their head because that's what the illness involves ... it being all in their head. Duh.

It is affecting their brain in a negative way and there is so much evidence out in the world that can prove that someone can get sick in their brain. 

And it's a shame that mental illness is only spoken of when a white guy decides to shoot up a place because it puts the notion that everyone who has a mental illness is gonna shoot up a place or resorts to violence which isn't true. Mental illness needs to be spoken about all year round because it is real.