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TBGHP Podcast

Conversations about mental health for women of color.

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We don't all have the ability to communicate what we're feeling with words. There are many reasons why this could be the case - injury, cognitive impairments, trauma...just to name a few. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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However, even if you can't communicate with words, you can communicate with your body. It's often an automatic process - in a situation that feels unsafe, you may clench your jaw and your breathing may become shallow. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you're feeling safe and comfortable, your shoulders may naturally settle down and away from your ears, and your facial muscles may appear relaxed. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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If you are feeling self-conscious, you may hollow your torso, hanging your head forward or looking down at the ground, and you may avoid eye contact ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Our bodies often show the truth of what we're feeling, and is the home to each of our experiences before we are ever able to process them using words or the higher processing areas of our brain. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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This is why dance/movement psychotherapy exists - to support self expression in its fullest form. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Even if you are able to communicate your feelings verbally, it's important to understand what's happening in your body and how what's happening relates to the words you choose to use to describe it. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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All of this to say - talk therapy isn't the only way to support your mental and emotional wellness. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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For more information on dance/movement psychotherapy, check out the @bghproject highlights. And if you have any questions about dance/movement psychotherapy, feel free to drop them in the comments and our founder @jennmsterling will answer them in an IG story later this week!

"My friends and family think I'm lazy, but I'm not...really I'm not," her voice cracked a little as she said the last few words of that statement. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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She put her head in her hands and started to cry. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"I try so hard, but some days..." her voice trailed off, but instead of filling the space with words and thoughts, I invited her to feel and move. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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"Show me how you feel in your body on those days," I said. She stared at me for a minute, then curved her spine as if she had a beach ball in her lap. Her chin fell toward her chest, her head hanging as if it weighed a ton, then she slowly slid out of her chair and allowed herself to gently collapse onto the floor before saying "heavy...some days I feel like I have weights all over my body and I just can't carry them all. I'm not lazy, it's just too much. I want to move and do things, but it's just too much." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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She hid her face and cried and I reminded her that depression can sometimes make us feel heavy and weighted. Our bodily processes are slowing down, which can cause incredible fatigue. "You're not lazy," I said. "You're depressed." ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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When there is so much stigma around having a mental illness that the people around us deny that conditions like depression exist; or when we don't have the knowledge or the language to truly understand what's going on in our bodies, we may start to believe that we're flawed.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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But whether you have a mental illness or not, you're not flawed. And if you're feeling tired much of the time, hopeless, and are not interested in routine activities or things that would typically bring you pleasure, it doesn't mean you're lazy. You might be depressed, so check in with a trusted medical professional. ▫️📷: @ineeeda

"No one has ever said that to me before...and meant it." She said. ◾ I paused and took a breath, watched her pretend to push her cuticles back for a minute before responding. ◾ "I hear you," I said, "and I meant what I said...you can reach out for support when you need it." ◾ She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and said "thank you, but I probably won't...you know, I'm supposed to be the strong one...you know, the strong black woman." She made air quotes with her fingers. ◾ I looked down at the floor; my stomach dropped. I knew exactly what she meant. ◾ It took 33 years for me to hear those words and actually feel like it might be possible, and ok, for me to reach out. It took me a few years after that to let go of the shame and guilt that came from actually asking for help. Years to understand that asking for help didn't make me weak and wasn't failure. ◾ She looked up at me, this time with tears rolling down her cheeks and said, "if it's really ok...I might, but...I can't make any promises." ◾ I smiled, and couldn't help but think about the potential for healing in that interaction - for her as the patient and me as the therapist. Because the journey never ends, you know - we're all just humans after all. 📷: @ineeeda

🙋🏽‍♀️ if your therapist or psychiatrist have suggested dietary changes as part of your mental wellness plan.
I don't have the stats on how commonly it happens, but I know that for many of my clients and patients, I'm the first person to offer dietary recommendations + other lifestyle shifts as a means of treatment and/or management for their depression.
I make these recommendations because 1) I was a nutritionist and chef before I became a dance/movement psychotherapist, and 2) because all of the systems of the body are interconnected.
Depression isn't just a brain problem - it's an illness that can affect (and be affected by) different parts of the body.
For example, research has found that internal inflammation can contribute to and trigger depression. Also, a lack of certain groups of bacteria in the gut, (Coprococcus and Dialister, for example) were consistently found to be at low numbers in people with depression. It's not a cure-all, but food can have a significant impact on both of these things - reducing inflammation and healing/restoring balance to the gut.
So what can you do? Treat yourself well.
Nourish your body with foods that make you feel well (or give you a sense of what being well might feel like). For me (right now), that looks like a warm, comforting bowl of chicken soup. It may be different for you depending on where you are in the world, how you're feeling and what you have access to.
Do what you can, and remember - a depressed body needs nourishment, even if it doesn't feel that way at times.