No Shame Day

(The Root) — Yesterday was the first day of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. For the second year in a row, people on Twitter kicked off the month by sharing stories of their own experiences with mental illness, marked with the tag #NoShameDay.

It has always been said that black people don’t go to therapy; they go to church. No Shame Day and the Siwe Project, both started by writer Bassey Ikpi, aim to eliminate that line of thinking by promoting mental-health awareness in the black community. The stigma of being mentally ill, needing help and seeking therapy often keeps people from doing so; the purpose of No Shame Day is to combat that stigma by freely sharing our stories.

The day produced some very inspiring stories and tweets. Check out a few of them below.

https://twitter.com/seelolago/status/351722992214081536

https://twitter.com/tnwhiskeywoman/status/351798749804232706

https://twitter.com/slb79/status/351781401605046272

Have a look at what real humanity looks like, when all cards are on the table, but there is NO SHAME anymore #NoShameDay

— Bella (@bellaellaella) July 1, 2013

@unholyglee DEFINITELY hard work! But YOU are worth every effort. Your #mentalhealth IS that important. #noshameday

— The Siwe Project (@TheSiweProject) July 1, 2013

https://twitter.com/blackgirlinmain/status/351834251521556480

Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.