mental health
-
Because of COVID-19, I Haven't Hugged My Daughter in Months
I haven’t hugged my daughter in months. Before COVID-19 hit (well, impacted the way we live our lives), my family was impacted by health concerns. In what should have been my daughter’s last semester of 5th grade, and before she made the transition to being a middle schooler, her year was cut short over a…
-
![August Alsina Speaks His Truth About Alleged Relationship With Jada Pinkett Smith, Says Will Smith Gave His Blessing [Updated]](https://s3.amazonaws.com/assets-server.theroot.kinjastaging.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/25183925/vxjvdulisjswhbnpnzhs-300x169.jpg)
August Alsina Speaks His Truth About Alleged Relationship With Jada Pinkett Smith, Says Will Smith Gave His Blessing [Updated]
On Tuesday, August Alsina published a video from his recent sit-down with Angela Yee for a very lengthy conversation surrounding his new album The Product III: stateofEMERGEncy, his documentary stateofEMERGEncy: The Rise of August Alsina, his life, love and more. “I honor myself and I honor my authenticity,” Alsina said in the in-depth interview that…
-
Finding Black Joy in Times of Crisis
The other week, I cried. For some, shedding tears in times of chaos and terror seems quite normal. Anticipated, even. To me, it felt strange. I am a black woman. As a journalist and a ‘student of the game,’ I am keenly aware of the systems of racism that—from this country’s inception—were created to oppress…
-
Two Funds Named for Nina Pop and Tony McDade Will Provide Free Therapy Sessions for Black Transgender Folks
Black trans people have long stood at the intersection of racist violence and gender violence. In the last month, Nina Pop, a black trans woman killed in early May, and Tony McDade, a black trans man fatally shot by Tallahassee police last week, have become names to rally around, symbolizing the need for specific protections…
-
How 'Spoon Theory' Can Help You Monitor and Manage Your Mental Wellbeing During Turbulent Times
The news about the state of the nation’s mental health was alarming even before the traumatic events of this past week—when news cycles and social media timelines were flooded with news about racists, deadly, and un-redressed assaults on black people. On Tuesday (which, somehow, wasn’t three years ago) a Census Bureau report showed a third…
-
Safe Space: Black Imagination Offers a Necessary Respite From the Onslaught of Black Trauma
“A safe world, in my opinion, would be one where other humans are not an existential threat. Love and value would have to fall in line for such a world to exist.” — William Wallace III, Philadephia, Penn. text This is the sobering half-wish offered on page 57 of Black Imagination, an amalgamation of black…
-
3 Tips You Can Try Right Now to Improve Your Mental Health
Quarantine life is a lot, y’all. Not only have lives been lost, but millions of jobs have evaporated as we’ve struggled to regain some sense of normalcy as a society. It also doesn’t help that with stay-at-home orders in place, many of us have suffered through this experience in solitude. Thankfully, author Justin Michael Williams—go…
-
To Navigate Your Mental Wellbeing, You Need to Use Your Body
During a pandemic, your body is the biggest thing there is. I live in New York, a city where, under pre-pandemic circumstances, you can feel everything and nothing at once. But since the first coronavirus case was confirmed here, my life, like the lives of many others, has been contained, no longer ping-ponging from one…
-
On Riding the Waves of Grief
“In a split second, I felt like I was drowning.” text In the summer of 2011, I took my very first out-of-country trip to Cancun, Mexico with my family. I relished in the warm wetness of the Caribbean Sea, as the saltiness tickled the space between my toes. 2011 was also rather significant for me…
-
Psychology Professionals Discuss How Quarantine Affects Mental Illness Sufferers
It’s been a little over two months since we began quarantine and social distancing nationwide, so if you feel like you’re completely losing your mind, you are not alone. During this time of unprecedented uncertainty, many are struggling with stress and anxiety stemming from news regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Our mental health as a whole…