Flat Tummy Tea for the Soul? Black Wellness and Popular Culture.

It's no secret that we live in a society that where trends are temporary. In truth, things are more cyclical than temporary. We seem to be interested in things in waves. Fashion tends to cycle every 20 or 30 years. Who would've thought fanny packs and multi-colored attire would've been back in style? Maybe those who were around to see the evolution of  hi-top fade. If you look closely enough you'd find the same trend in music and other socio-cultural phenomena. 

Today's Fanny Pack

Recently, we've seen a surgence in the conversation about wellness and people of color. The discussions about the need for therapy are heard daily on The Breakfast Club and pushed forward by Charlamagne Tha God, who openly talks about his weekly sessions with his therapist and wrote a book on the topic of his anxiety. Taraji P. Henson started an organization to increase the awareness of mental health in our community and to encourage more people of underserved communities to enter the mental health field. All of a sudden our people seem more open to not only talk about their struggles but also using therapy and other wellness techniques/services for improving emotional health. ​

YG talks to The Breakfast Club 

Meditation, yoga, life coaching, spiritual healing, working out, plant based diets and essential oils are also often seen in popular media right alongside therapy. As a therapist, I'm pleased and scared at the Same. Damn. Time. I've been doing this work for 20 years. 20 years of seeing some of the worst atrocities that the human spirit could have to endure. 20 years of trying to convince young people, predominantly Black young people, that getting support to unlearn what could kill them (emotionally and physically) didn't make them ‘crazy.’ I remember Oprah not being well lauded because her topics of wellness, meditation and spiritual alignment didn't feel 'Black enough.' I remember growing up where the definition of Blackness was synonymous with struggle and pain. And we wore that like a badge of honor.  

Then, we didn't even seem to conceptualize healing.; now, healing is a big business and we've joined the market like the good consumers we are. Unlike other trends, this is new for our community. Historically, our distrust of systems has not allowed us to consider therapy or other healing modalities as viable resources. The church alter or the botanica were the only places many of us knew to go to receive our healing or seek answers. The addition of other modalities to our tool box is exciting. But we need to be mindful that not everyone is here to meet our needs. ​

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