Am I Trippin’?
No, you are not trippin’! The world has shifted, and your feelings and perspective on the world may have changed as well. Instead of paying attention to your feelings of anxiety, depression, or the signs of distress, you probably have been pressing forward. As a person of color, you probably have grown up with the mindset to persevere, continue using your ancestry gifts, or lean into your spirituality/faith community. Perhaps you have coworkers daring you to succeed, relationship struggles, or too much family drama.
The interplay of stigma, limited knowledge, unexpressed pain, and lack of access to talk to someone reliable and trustworthy conspires to keep many families from overcoming life obstacles. Perhaps you have trouble articulating what you feel even though you have accomplished a comfortable life and yet feel so sad and empty almost all the time.
Beneath It All
If it is taking everything, you got to keep life going. I want you to know that environmental influences impact the brain and possibly change how we feel about ourselves. Therefore, we don’t reach out for help because we are taught to stand together, denying our pain. The reality is that people of color experience a complex psychological reality in the United States. You might have a quiet thought that things would be so much easier if you could go to sleep and not ever get up or deal with it all.
How Therapy Works for You
The belief that we can endure anything and everything is over. I want to help you gain the language you need to explain what you see and feel in your reality and from a perspective that makes sense. I want to help you get psychological freedom, be more honest about your present and past experiences, and be happier. If you (or someone you care about) cannot take on as much as someone else, that does not make you weak or lack faith/spirituality. This may mean that you have to prepare differently and learn how to live your life unapologetically for yourself. Therapy is a place where no one but me and you knows what you’re going through, so it’s safe. Therapy is a resource and a tool that can assist you or a loved one in achieving the mental and emotional well-being that you seek. Additionally, wouldn’t it be good to sit with someone who “gets it?”
De Angela Jane Smith, AMFT
Associate Marriage Family Therapist
CAV Family Therapy Inc.
(657) 333 – 5218