“So during this pandemic, it’s been hard on all of us and I had a moment. I had a dark moment. I was in a dark place. For a couple of days, I couldn’t get out of bed, I didn’t care. That’s not me. Then, I started having thoughts about ending it. It happened two nights in a row and I purchased a gun not too long ago, it’s in a safe, and I started like, ‘I could go in there right now and end it all because I want it to be over.’”
Oh no… And nothing could bring her out of the darkness:
“I thought about my son, he’s grown, he’ll get over it. I didn’t care. I felt myself withdrawing. People were calling me, I wasn’t responding, I didn’t care.”
It is heartbroken for me to see one of my favourite Empire stars went through this awful moment and I am glad she did not do it because she is the interview that it was a really bad moment for her. She thought of the suicide two nights in a roll then she thought she needs to say it out because she did not then it becomes a plan so she just blurted it out. And thank God she did.
“I felt like, if I don’t say it, it becomes a plan. What scared me is I did it two nights in a row. First, it was like, ‘I don’t wanna be here.’ Then I started thinking about going to get the gun and that’s why when I woke up the next morning, I blurted it out.”
“That pressure in itself has created a lot of unrealistic expectations that are both self-imposed and imposed by others. But we also buy into it, because that’s the one thing we have.”
LaShanda also talked about being aware of our negative thoughts. We can recognize they do happen, and we will sometimes think bad things, but we have the power to realize we shouldn’t listen. The doctor stressed:
“You don’t have to believe every thought you have.”
The doctor also advised Taraji to take some time off for herself and stop working during the holiday.
Here’s a link to the episode below if you want to hear the entire conversation:
Is the Pressure to Be a Strong Black Woman Too Much?
Taraji reveals her shocking mental collapse as Dr LaShonda Green breaks down mental breakdowns. Why do Black women, in particular, try to heal on their own, the toll that takes and tips to help.
Posted by Taraji P. Henson on Friday, December 18, 2020
If you are having any insidious thoughts please do not hesitate to call these numbers for help.