HEALTH (25News Now) – According to a 2023 Report from the CDC, Black people were the leading demographic for mental health emergency room visits.
Curtiss Cook appears in the showtime series, “The Chi”, and says his mental health journey hasn’t been easy.
He’s always dealt with depression and feelings of loneliness, but therapy has helped.
Cook told 25News he’s always dealt with depression and recalls feeling trapped and unmotivated to do things daily.
However, Cook says therapy has helped him communicate with people better and made him an avid listener.
He also says his support dog Bolo helps take his mind off of the stressors in life.
“For me, I can get into a place where I just don’t move. I’ll sit. read, stay in, and watch TV. I won’t go out at all. Nowadays, because of Bolo, I can’t do that,” said Cook. “He’s a big dog, he needs to exercise, he needs to go out, and he needs attention.”
Local Certified Life Coach, Jaycee Bradley specializes in addiction and abuse trauma recovery.
Yet she deals with those stressed out from work, life, and whatever’s going on in the community.
Bradley says in many Black homes, people are taught not to share what goes on “inside the house.”
Coloring is one of the coping mechanisms she teaches because it can help clients relax.
“Coloring is really good, there are several different coping skills. Breathing is probably the first one I would recommend simply because most of us hold our breath when we get scared, when we are fearful, when we are going through something, stressed out. We don’t even know it that we actually hold our breath,” she said.
Bradley also says trauma can be generational within the community.
“It’s been passed down. For example, if I’m lacking love, how do I give that to my child? How do I provide that for others? If I wasn’t taught how to love myself, how do I teach my children how to love themselves. If I wasn’t nurtured, how do I nurture,” said Bradley.
Cook adds that therapy and Bolo help combat his feeling of loneliness, which is more common than one would think.
Cook adds that even finding other hobbies such as boxing with his castmates has helped him through those challenging times.
He also says it’s important that people don’t suffer in silence.
If you or someone you know needs help, you can call 1-800-487-4889, which is the Treatment Referral Routing Service.
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