(The Root) — Yesterday was the first day of National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month. For the second year in a row, people on Twitter kicked off the month by sharing stories of their own experiences with mental illness, marked with the tag #NoShameDay.
It has always been said that black people don't go to therapy; they go to church. No Shame Day and the Siwe Project, both started by writer Bassey Ikpi, aim to eliminate that line of thinking by promoting mental-health awareness in the black community. The stigma of being mentally ill, needing help and seeking therapy often keeps people from doing so; the purpose of No Shame Day is to combat that stigma by freely sharing our stories.
The day produced some very inspiring stories and tweets. Check out a few of them below.
Tracy Clayton is a writer, humorist and blogger from Louisville, Ky.