mental health
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Death at DC Boarding School Highlights the Alarming Increase of Suicides Among Young Black Children
At about 6:15 a.m. Tuesday, several middle-school-age students at a boarding school in Washington, D.C., found their 12-year-old classmate unconscious. Officials would later confirm that the girl, one of the students’ roommates, was dead of an apparent suicide, Fox 5 DC reports. Paramedics who rushed to the scene could not revive her. The unidentified girl…
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How Crazy Ex-Girlfriend Perfectly Tackles Mental Health Issues
I wasn’t the least bit interested in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend when I first happened upon it on the CW. If the title didn’t completely turn me off, I didn’t understand the premise. How could an entire series be built around a woman basically stalking her ex and then randomly singing about it? It just seemed weird…
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For Colored Girls in Their 30s and 40s Who Feel Like Life May Have Passed Them By
In the predawn quiet before the world reanimated itself, my phone lit up, announcing an incoming call from a friend I absolutely love. She’s an early riser like me, so we have high-energy conversations at obnoxious hours of the morning when everyone else is still asleep. But I was on deadline this particular day, so…
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Body Politics: Transforming Your #TransformationTuesday
#TransformationTuesday, a popular hashtag that encourages people to share their fitness success stories, has collected more than 11 million tags on social platforms such as Instagram and Twitter. Like many, I’ve indulged in my share of posts showcasing my weight-loss journey and muscle gains. But though visuals can be inspiring, they can also haunt like…
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Stop Putting Your Life on Layaway: 5 Things You Should Say Yes to in 2018
Recently, Wifey and I went on a double date with another black lesbian couple I deeply admire. One of them is an über-talented writer, artist and teacher, while the other is a nationally recognized food-justice consultant. After we’d been out of touch for a while, the theme of the night was about catching up and…
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5 Apps to Make Your 2018 More Productive and Stress-Free
Many people look for different ways to minimize the time they spend on their devices, but for those of us who manage mental illness or mood disorders, “adulting” can be particularly overwhelming sometimes. Over the last few years, I’ve found a few apps that help me get through things. The apps listed below can help…
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There Is Hope for Depression This Holiday Season
I’ll never forget the day I got the phone call that one of my closest friends for 20 years—a beautiful young wife and mother—had suddenly and inexplicably taken her life. Her depression, which had gone undiagnosed by doctors and unrecognized by those of us who knew her well and loved her dearly, just became too…
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Little Black Girls Are Killing Themselves. Does Anyone Care Enough to Figure Out Why?
When I was 4 years old, I told my mother that my nursery school teacher told me to “stop acting like a baby” because I had gotten a boo-boo on my knee. According to my mother, she asked me what reception other little kids received when they got boo-boos. I told her that a little…