Do you shy away from discussions dealing with mental health?

I had the honor of contributing to one of my favorite blogs, Living in Mommywood created by Mari Corona. Here's a snippet! We chat about the importance of mental health stigma fighting, my experiences with mental health during pregnancy,  mental health for men, the importance of mental health education for kids and so much more! Hello doll! Happy November the year is almost over. Was 2018 all you hoped it would be, did you incorporate any new habits targeting self- care and mental health? You know I am always advocating for that especially in these crazy times. I don’t want to get into all that is on the news but I thought I would ask fellow Blogger friend Rowana Abbensetts from Spoken Black Girl to join me today and share her views on mental health and the effects it has, especially in communities of color.Rowana is an advocate for mental health, who shares her own experiences through her writing and now also through her own magazine! She is also about to have her first baby so I am excited to hear her thoughts on motherhood, self-care, and mental health. Click the link above to visit her magazine and read more amazing, empowering stories.I believe it is most important now more than ever that we focus on our mental being. It can be very easy to fall into depression and sadness and feel hopeless when you are surrounded by constant depictions of inhumanity. Let’s welcome Rowana, and hear what she has to say:Rowana, welcome can you tell me a little about your background and how Spoken Black Girl was born? Thank you for inviting me to Mommywood, Mari! My name is Rowana Abbensetts and I’m a Caribbean American gal from Queens, New York who is passionate about mental health advocacy. After experiencing anxiety and depression throughout my life and realizing the degree to which mental health issues are stigmatized, particularly for Black women, I started blogging about my experiences to find community. Last year, my blog blossomed into Spoken Black Girl Magazine, a publication meant to amplify the voices of women of color who are seeking a life that goes beyond surviving and embraces self-care, holistic wellness, and self-love.How valuable do you consider mental health conversations to be in our communities? As a mental health advocate, I believe talking about mental health is extremely important. Stigma fighting takes time. It takes being uncomfortable. It takes reaching out and showing up authentically for others. Communities of color too often sweep mental health under the rug, a dangerous habit, since poor mental health is eroding our communities in so many different ways. If we want to remain resilient in these difficult times, we have to prioritize taking care of our mental health - no one else will. These days our news reports and social media feeds are filled with trauma and violence. It’s not normal to be able to withstand continuous trauma and carry on as if everything is okay. We need to actively heal our communities.Keep reading on LivinginMommywood!