October 19, 2024 • 17 mins
DaBaby Talks Therapy, Mental Health In His Community at the 2024 Mental Wealth Expo. Listen For More!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:28):
And I am Shanty Jos.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm moderating this incredible chat that we're about to have.
Next up, we have an extraordinary young man with a
great story who is doing some incredible stuff for the community. Now,
let's give it up for Grammy Nominator Recording Artists.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
The Baby.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
There, you go, make some noise. Put a seven o's
one head the baby in head.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yes, and last, but certainly not least, we have mister
Elliott Connie. He is a license psycho therapist.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Give up for Elliott? All right, all right, all ready,
what's up?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So my first question is gonna be you for you
the Baby. Yes, ma'am, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I appreciate you having you for being here my beautiful
space to be in. I appreciate y'all welcoming me with
open arms. I appreciate all y'all for being here today too.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
So can you share with us what inspired you to
start this mental health nonprofit in honor of your loved
one and what specific challenges you aim to address within
the black community regarding mental health and suicide.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
First and foremost, what inspired me to embark on my
mental health journey and just creating this initiative and honor
my brother.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Is this being something.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
That I need first and foremost, you know what I mean?
And not just me bringing other people and challenging them to,
you know, embark on a mental health journey. But this
is something I need, something my brother's kids need, my nieces,
my nephew. My brother left four kids behind when he
took his life, you know, the suicide back in twenty twenty.
So these resources that I'm creating and these tools that
(02:03):
I'm you know, putting in front of people, these are
tools that I'm using in real time.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I'm not just telling somebody else to go do it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Like even me being in this room and getting in
front of people like this and getting on panels like this,
every conversation I have it, you know, it takes me
a step along along the way in the journey of
healing myself. So I feel like it's super important not
just for me, but everybody else is just to feel
the healing in real time, and you know, see how
good it feels. It's something that I'm super excited to
just give somebody else the opportunity to do as well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
That's awesome. May I ask you what your brother's name was.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Is Glenn Johnson?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Lynn, Glenn Johnson, Lynn's ma'am.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Glenn, Yes, ma'am, So I honor your brother's name. Let's
all honor his brother right now.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I appreciate that and his memory.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
That is so important.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So mental health and suicide are often considered taboo subjects
in the black community. You know, I certainly know from
firsthand experience. My father died by suicide my best friend
in twenty fourteen, and I came really close to taking
my own wife twenty fifteen. So I want to ask you, Connie,
and I'm sorry Elliott, Connie and Charlemagne, what are some
of the key barriers you have identified that prevent open
(03:11):
discussions and access to mental health resources in our community.
I'll start with you, Charlemagne and all that you're doing
with the Mental Wealth Alliance?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Was it? What was the question to what are.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Some of the key barriers that you've seen that prevent
open discussions around suicide in our community?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Man, people don't want to be perceived as crazy. That's
what I always say. In order to eradicate the stigma
around mental health, people cannot be afraid to tell their story.
And I think a lot of times you know, the
in the black community, we don't do ourselves no favors
by keeping secrets. You know, I've been dealing with anxiety
and you know, bout the depression my whole life. But
it wasn't until I started, you know, having these conversations
(03:49):
about it and telling my own story that I realized
there were so many people that was dealing with the
same thing, in particular my father, right, And I tell
this story all the time, But it was twenty eighteen.
I'm home in Monkscow, South Carolina. It was the week
of Thanksgiving. My cousin, who was twenty five at the time,
he had just completed suicide. I got that term from
Shanty by the way, completed suicide. He had just completed
(04:09):
suicide at twenty five years old. And he used to
do it like a lot of work with my father
in the neighborhood and my father's into construction. And my
father called me and he had just read my second book,
Shook One Anxiety playing tricks on me, and my cousin
completed suicide. And that was the first time my father
revealed to me that he had been going to therapy
two and three times a week and that he tried
to commit suicide.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
You know, thirty plus years ago.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
You know that he had been on ten to twelve
different medications in South Carolina for his mental health.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And so I remember asking my mom.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
I said to my mom and said, Joe, you know
Pop was dealing with all this, And she said, I
thought he was playing.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Crazy to get a check.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
So it's like, those are the type of things that
people be wanting to have conversations about, but they just
don't because they think people are going to think you
just playing crazy to get a check.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So we just all got to, you know, tell our stories.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Absolutely, you gotta be more open and vulnerable. Elliott, would
you like to after that? I mean, what else do you?
I think we can do more to open up discussions
and access to mental health resources in our community.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
I think, I mean, I agree with everything Charlemagne said.
I think another barrier to mental health issues is pride.
And I think we're proud of the wrong things, and
sometimes pride makes us afraid of judgment. But the truth
is we need to learn how to be proud of
(05:26):
the whole journey and the whole story, like someone like
Charlemagne and the God. He's an incredible person that's accomplished
incredible things, but when you learn that he struggled with
anxiety and depression, that provides context to his accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
So we need to learn.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
To be proud of the entire picture instead of just
being proud of the positive picture. And when we can
do that, then we have the opportunity for true healing.
So to answer that question like how do we open
up more dialogue and more access to mental health, we
have to be learned to be proud of our entire selves.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
And when we can do that, then that.
Speaker 6 (05:59):
Opens up everything and you have the possibility to heal
from anything.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, give it up for that.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I remember when my dad got by suicide when we
were a baby. We tried everything, We said everything rather
that he died from other than suicide, because we didn't
want to tell the whole story to your point, And
so only until I was an adult was I able
to say what had happened and be okay with it
and not be ashamed and embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
And so I want to go back to you the baby.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know, the Mental Wealth Alliance and Charlemagne and doctor
Alfie aim to shed light on all these critical issues.
Are there anything else you want to Is there anything
else whether you want to tell us about some of
the initiatives and programs that you're going to be doing
with the Baby Care of the Baby Cares to break
stigma and provide support to.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Those in need.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yes, ma'am. So we just launched the Baby Cares about
two days ago. I went to speak at West Charlotte
High School High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we're
partnering with the Mental Health America. We actually brought a
chapter of it to the Carolina So that's something I'm
extremely proud of and you know, just having an opportunity
to do.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
But with that, we launched.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
The Glenn Johnson for Mental Health Initiative and with that
will just be providing resources into its necessary and they
look and real. We're creating programs you know, right now
as we speak. And like I said, this is a
journey that I'm just now embarking on and I'm just
super excited to be learning as I go and as
I learned, teach you know what I mean, and just
pass the information right along.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yes, I love that. And I run a mental health organization.
Sounds for shame, So we're definitely gonna be in touch
and hopefully.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Absolutely you all.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I want to go back to you, Elliott.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
You know I've seen the suicide We've seen rather suicide rates,
especially for black men, from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty one, increase,
y'all by thirty percent.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
That's alarming, and that's a problem.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
What would you say, particularly just to the black community,
especially our black men in the audience today, what do
we need to do truly to be able to open up?
I know, suicidal ideation, sometimes it could be you know,
hereditary depression could run in your family, but sometimes it's situational.
So give me a good message for our black men today.
Speaker 6 (08:01):
So the first part of your question is what can
we do go to therapy?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Period?
Speaker 6 (08:10):
The second part of your question like, what's a message
we can give to them? I seriously do not forget
what I'm about to say. You are only as sick
as your secrets.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So y'all write that down.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
You're only as sick as your secrets. So whatever it
is that is tormenting you, you got to share that.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You got to let that out.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
And when you let it out, two incredible things happen.
And for real, y'all, don't forget this. The first thing
that happens is you release it. You're no longer bound
by it. The second thing that happens, and Charlamagne just
spoke to it. When you speak to it, someone's gonna
say me too, and you no longer feel like you're
alone in that journey. And I've been a practicing psychotherapist
(08:52):
for almost twenty years. I've never seen a single client
that was struggling with suicidal ideation or depression that did
not feel alone. So once we release that stuff and
we share it and we no longer feel we no
longer feel alone. Our resilience goes up when we get partnered.
Our resilience goes up when someone's walking the journey with us.
(09:13):
So go to therapy and never forget. You were only
as sick as your secrets, So anything you stop keeping
secret will no longer keep you sick.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Whoo, thank you, Elliott, And I tell people you know,
we got a superstar Rapper on the panel today.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You got to wrap through your problems. What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
The R is recognizing those unfamiliar thoughts and feelings. The
A and RAP is acknowledging it and then accepting it
because a lot of times we do stuff, but we
act like it didn't happen. So you recognize that, you
acknowledge it, and you accept it, and then you what's
the p you process through those challenges and problems with
a professional like Elliott. So recognize, acknowledge, accept and process.
(09:55):
All right, Maya, Well, we got about six minutes left,
So I do want to ask the baby, what message
would you like to convey to those struggling in silence
and even some of your reverend in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Like would I would go back to a couple of
things he just spoke on just going to therapy and
with you with the acronym that you just broke down,
like the order that you put it in recognizing and accepting,
and then the third one being processing, Like that's where
I'm at, Like to this, it started with me. It
took me so long to just recognizing and accept it,
you know what I mean. I probably recognized it early on,
(10:27):
but accepting it, that's something that's the stage I just
got to, you know what I mean, and processing it.
And you know, now I'm in the room with professionals,
with several professionals, I've learned a lot of information just
being on this stage with these great people for the
ten minutes we've been up here, you know what I mean.
So things that I would encourage other artists to do
is to just you know, speak up, you know, seek help,
have the conversations with people that make you uncomfortable, you
(10:50):
know what I mean. And just like you say, you know,
you're only as sick as your secrets. Like a lot
of the things that I go through, I've just been
conditioned just as a black man period. And I'm sure
plenty of people out here like you as black men
and women. Let's not just act like you know what
I mean, black men are up against the eyes or
you know what I mean, go through things, but we're
conditioning to just sweep things under the rug and you
know what I mean, and just navigate through them however
(11:11):
we can. And it's almost like, you know, we live
every day, day in and day out, like in survival mode,
you know, and that's something it's not healthy, but you know,
we're strong enough to survive. So with the strength that
we'll have if we're having these conversations and speaking with
professionals and sitting down and going to therapy, you know,
I would encourage other artists to do that. And you know,
just take the first step, you know what I mean,
(11:32):
the first step in the right direction, and I'm on
like my third or fourth step in it already. You know,
it just feels amazing, feels amazing.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh and I just I just want to give you your flowers,
because the entertainment industry can be tough, social media can
be tough.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Everybody got opinions, and I just met you. I don't
know you. All I know is the accolades you've.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Received, and you know, different things you've done in your past.
But you know, loving yourself, being able to process through
your brother's suicide. Nobody knows what that journey has been
like for you. And so for you to be doing
what you're doing now, not only are you helping yourself
and your family, you're helping so many other people out here.
We talked about it earlier on a panel. A lot
(12:13):
of times people going through stuff they projected on others.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So I just want you, young man.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I'm just say to you, keep doing what you're doing,
focus on you and your family and all that the
Baby Cares is going to do for our community.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
That's all that matters.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
But let's give him his flowers, y'all for what he's
doing with this important initiative to save lives.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Can I explain it on something, please, Auntie?
Speaker 5 (12:35):
I want to ask Elliot because Elliott says, you know
you're only as your secrets, which I agree with, But
what about when you know you have to live certain
traumas out loud, like you know, when when things happen
where a family member commits to suicide and that is
a traumatic experience, But then you still have obligations, right
you still and they say, they say staying busy as
a response to trauma. What advice would you you give
(12:57):
the people who have to have to deal with their
traumas out loud in the pub to.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Be fully, fully transparent. He was using words like acceptance,
but I want to add a word to that, and
you have to practice radical acceptance. What I mean by
that is like when you go through something, you got
to deal with it publicly. That's just where you are
at that moment. You have to literally just accept like
(13:20):
this is where I am in that moment and process
through it. However, you need to process through it when
you bury it and keep it a secret because I
have a public job, or because people see me or
because I'm in public, You're just gonna make yourself sicker.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Like you really have to just accept. And here's the thing, Like.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
We are conditioned, like as a black culture, we're conditioned
to think, if you knew my pain, you would perceive
me as weak. So thus I have to hide that
pain so you perceive me as strong. But I'm telling y'all,
the strongest thing you.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Could ever do is be you. Period.
Speaker 6 (13:55):
So if on that day me is processing a trauma,
then damn it, you're gonna have to just see me
processing a trust. That's just how it works. So it's
unfortunate sometimes that we have to process see things in public,
and it's unfortunate that social media does what it does.
But I don't give a damn. This is me and
on this day, this is how I have to show up.
And when you can show up as you every single day,
(14:17):
that is true strength.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yes, thank you for adding that question. That was a
great question.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
You you can turn on ig on any get a
moment and see me in an ugly cris I don't care.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
You're gonna get who I am in that moment.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Thank you, Elliott for that, Charlotmayne, what message of hope
would you like to leave everyone who's struggling in silence?
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Man, The message of hope is that you're not alone.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
And you don't realize that until you start sharing your story,
like I said earlier, until you start realizing that you know,
you're only a sick as your secrets. Like Elliot Connie said,
that's why it's so important for us to have spaces
like this. Man, this is community, right, And I thought
it was unique, the stuff that I was dealing with.
That's why I would keep it to myself. But then
(14:59):
when I started sharing it and realizing, like, no, there's
other people out there dealing with anxieties, other people out
there dealing with depression, there's other people out there dealing
with PTSD. This out there people out there dealing with
things that you know, I couldn't even comprehend. Like when
you just start sharing that story, man, you just form
this this village, and we got to get back to that.
We got to get back to being a village. We
got to get back to you know, lifting each other up.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
You know, I love that.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
I love that meme of that basketball player when he
had his head down and the brother just came and
helped them lift it up, like little simple things like that.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So the hope is.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
That you're not alone. So just share your story and
you'll realize you're not alone.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yes, thank you, I want to give our final words
to the baby.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Anything else you'd like to share, all the things.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
I'm sorry, I'm mean to cut you off. I'm just
I'm excited, you know what I'm saying right now. I'm
just excited because all the information that these three great
people on the stage are sharing. This is this is
my life and real time, you know what I mean, Like,
this is really my life in real time. About a
week ago, I felt completely alone in my.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Struggle and what I've been through.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
When I go sit down with him at Breakfast Club
last week, when I come sit down right here, I
met about a dozen people backstage before coming out here
as well as the what this is about two thousand
people in here, closely two thousand people in here, like
you know, to see everybody in here have similar interests
and you know, be seeking this information and have this
information impact everybody out here, and you know, get you
(16:21):
guys to just nod your head and agree. I'm up
here beside these guys, Like like, I feel like he's
talking to me. Everything you say, I feel like you're
talking to me. Everything they've set up here, I feel
like they're talking directly to me. So I'm just super
excited to just embark on this journey and start therapy
myself and I have, you know, as many conversations as
I can, Like I'm actually upset that I didn't bring
my nieces, my brother's kids with me, and my mom
(16:43):
with me, so you know, like, I'm just excited to
just you know, to leave here today and just to
go tell everybody, you know, all the great information that
I gained here today, and to just bring my family
along with me and others that I need along with
me on this.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Journey of Hilla.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
I love that. Yes, give it up.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
So we're out of time now, but we got three
strong black men, and I just want to say to
each one of you black men, I'm always corning acronyms,
man manifesting a need, manifesting a need to be vulnerable,
to be transparent, to be okay with who you are being,
taking care of yourself and knowing that self care is
not selfish, right, and pouring back into your community. Y'all
(17:20):
give it up for these black men poor, helping to
erase stigma and shame around suicide in the black community.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Thank y'all so much, and let's give it up for them.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Thank you.
And I am Shanty Jos.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
I'm moderating this incredible chat that we're about to have.
Next up, we have an extraordinary young man with a
great story who is doing some incredible stuff for the community. Now,
let's give it up for Grammy Nominator Recording Artists.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
The Baby.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
There, you go, make some noise. Put a seven o's
one head the baby in head.
Speaker 2 (00:53):
Yes, and last, but certainly not least, we have mister
Elliott Connie. He is a license psycho therapist.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Give up for Elliott? All right, all right, all ready,
what's up?
Speaker 2 (01:10):
So my first question is gonna be you for you
the Baby. Yes, ma'am, thank you for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
I appreciate you having you for being here my beautiful
space to be in. I appreciate y'all welcoming me with
open arms. I appreciate all y'all for being here today too.
Speaker 1 (01:21):
That's right.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
So can you share with us what inspired you to
start this mental health nonprofit in honor of your loved
one and what specific challenges you aim to address within
the black community regarding mental health and suicide.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
First and foremost, what inspired me to embark on my
mental health journey and just creating this initiative and honor
my brother.
Speaker 3 (01:41):
Is this being something.
Speaker 4 (01:42):
That I need first and foremost, you know what I mean?
And not just me bringing other people and challenging them to,
you know, embark on a mental health journey. But this
is something I need, something my brother's kids need, my nieces,
my nephew. My brother left four kids behind when he
took his life, you know, the suicide back in twenty twenty.
So these resources that I'm creating and these tools that
(02:03):
I'm you know, putting in front of people, these are
tools that I'm using in real time.
Speaker 3 (02:06):
I'm not just telling somebody else to go do it.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Like even me being in this room and getting in
front of people like this and getting on panels like this,
every conversation I have it, you know, it takes me
a step along along the way in the journey of
healing myself. So I feel like it's super important not
just for me, but everybody else is just to feel
the healing in real time, and you know, see how
good it feels. It's something that I'm super excited to
just give somebody else the opportunity to do as well.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
That's awesome. May I ask you what your brother's name was.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
Is Glenn Johnson?
Speaker 4 (02:35):
Lynn, Glenn Johnson, Lynn's ma'am.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Glenn, Yes, ma'am, So I honor your brother's name. Let's
all honor his brother right now.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
I appreciate that and his memory.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
That is so important.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So mental health and suicide are often considered taboo subjects
in the black community. You know, I certainly know from
firsthand experience. My father died by suicide my best friend
in twenty fourteen, and I came really close to taking
my own wife twenty fifteen. So I want to ask you, Connie,
and I'm sorry Elliott, Connie and Charlemagne, what are some
of the key barriers you have identified that prevent open
(03:11):
discussions and access to mental health resources in our community.
I'll start with you, Charlemagne and all that you're doing
with the Mental Wealth Alliance?
Speaker 3 (03:18):
Was it? What was the question to what are.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
Some of the key barriers that you've seen that prevent
open discussions around suicide in our community?
Speaker 5 (03:26):
Man, people don't want to be perceived as crazy. That's
what I always say. In order to eradicate the stigma
around mental health, people cannot be afraid to tell their story.
And I think a lot of times you know, the
in the black community, we don't do ourselves no favors
by keeping secrets. You know, I've been dealing with anxiety
and you know, bout the depression my whole life. But
it wasn't until I started, you know, having these conversations
(03:49):
about it and telling my own story that I realized
there were so many people that was dealing with the
same thing, in particular my father, right, And I tell
this story all the time, But it was twenty eighteen.
I'm home in Monkscow, South Carolina. It was the week
of Thanksgiving. My cousin, who was twenty five at the time,
he had just completed suicide. I got that term from
Shanty by the way, completed suicide. He had just completed
(04:09):
suicide at twenty five years old. And he used to
do it like a lot of work with my father
in the neighborhood and my father's into construction. And my
father called me and he had just read my second book,
Shook One Anxiety playing tricks on me, and my cousin
completed suicide. And that was the first time my father
revealed to me that he had been going to therapy
two and three times a week and that he tried
to commit suicide.
Speaker 3 (04:29):
You know, thirty plus years ago.
Speaker 5 (04:31):
You know that he had been on ten to twelve
different medications in South Carolina for his mental health.
Speaker 3 (04:37):
And so I remember asking my mom.
Speaker 5 (04:39):
I said to my mom and said, Joe, you know
Pop was dealing with all this, And she said, I
thought he was playing.
Speaker 3 (04:42):
Crazy to get a check.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
So it's like, those are the type of things that
people be wanting to have conversations about, but they just
don't because they think people are going to think you
just playing crazy to get a check.
Speaker 3 (04:52):
So we just all got to, you know, tell our stories.
Speaker 2 (04:54):
Absolutely, you gotta be more open and vulnerable. Elliott, would
you like to after that? I mean, what else do you?
I think we can do more to open up discussions
and access to mental health resources in our community.
Speaker 6 (05:05):
I think, I mean, I agree with everything Charlemagne said.
I think another barrier to mental health issues is pride.
And I think we're proud of the wrong things, and
sometimes pride makes us afraid of judgment. But the truth
is we need to learn how to be proud of
(05:26):
the whole journey and the whole story, like someone like
Charlemagne and the God. He's an incredible person that's accomplished
incredible things, but when you learn that he struggled with
anxiety and depression, that provides context to his accomplishments.
Speaker 3 (05:41):
So we need to learn.
Speaker 6 (05:42):
To be proud of the entire picture instead of just
being proud of the positive picture. And when we can
do that, then we have the opportunity for true healing.
So to answer that question like how do we open
up more dialogue and more access to mental health, we
have to be learned to be proud of our entire selves.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
And when we can do that, then that.
Speaker 6 (05:59):
Opens up everything and you have the possibility to heal
from anything.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah, give it up for that.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
I remember when my dad got by suicide when we
were a baby. We tried everything, We said everything rather
that he died from other than suicide, because we didn't
want to tell the whole story to your point, And
so only until I was an adult was I able
to say what had happened and be okay with it
and not be ashamed and embarrassed.
Speaker 1 (06:22):
And so I want to go back to you the baby.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
You know, the Mental Wealth Alliance and Charlemagne and doctor
Alfie aim to shed light on all these critical issues.
Are there anything else you want to Is there anything
else whether you want to tell us about some of
the initiatives and programs that you're going to be doing
with the Baby Care of the Baby Cares to break
stigma and provide support to.
Speaker 1 (06:40):
Those in need.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
Yes, ma'am. So we just launched the Baby Cares about
two days ago. I went to speak at West Charlotte
High School High School in Charlotte, North Carolina, and we're
partnering with the Mental Health America. We actually brought a
chapter of it to the Carolina So that's something I'm
extremely proud of and you know, just having an opportunity
to do.
Speaker 3 (06:57):
But with that, we launched.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
The Glenn Johnson for Mental Health Initiative and with that
will just be providing resources into its necessary and they
look and real. We're creating programs you know, right now
as we speak. And like I said, this is a
journey that I'm just now embarking on and I'm just
super excited to be learning as I go and as
I learned, teach you know what I mean, and just
pass the information right along.
Speaker 2 (07:18):
Yes, I love that. And I run a mental health organization.
Sounds for shame, So we're definitely gonna be in touch
and hopefully.
Speaker 3 (07:25):
Absolutely you all.
Speaker 1 (07:26):
I want to go back to you, Elliott.
Speaker 2 (07:30):
You know I've seen the suicide We've seen rather suicide rates,
especially for black men, from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty one, increase,
y'all by thirty percent.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
That's alarming, and that's a problem.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
What would you say, particularly just to the black community,
especially our black men in the audience today, what do
we need to do truly to be able to open up?
I know, suicidal ideation, sometimes it could be you know,
hereditary depression could run in your family, but sometimes it's situational.
So give me a good message for our black men today.
Speaker 6 (08:01):
So the first part of your question is what can
we do go to therapy?
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Period?
Speaker 6 (08:10):
The second part of your question like, what's a message
we can give to them? I seriously do not forget
what I'm about to say. You are only as sick
as your secrets.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
So y'all write that down.
Speaker 6 (08:24):
You're only as sick as your secrets. So whatever it
is that is tormenting you, you got to share that.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
You got to let that out.
Speaker 6 (08:32):
And when you let it out, two incredible things happen.
And for real, y'all, don't forget this. The first thing
that happens is you release it. You're no longer bound
by it. The second thing that happens, and Charlamagne just
spoke to it. When you speak to it, someone's gonna
say me too, and you no longer feel like you're
alone in that journey. And I've been a practicing psychotherapist
(08:52):
for almost twenty years. I've never seen a single client
that was struggling with suicidal ideation or depression that did
not feel alone. So once we release that stuff and
we share it and we no longer feel we no
longer feel alone. Our resilience goes up when we get partnered.
Our resilience goes up when someone's walking the journey with us.
(09:13):
So go to therapy and never forget. You were only
as sick as your secrets, So anything you stop keeping
secret will no longer keep you sick.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
Whoo, thank you, Elliott, And I tell people you know,
we got a superstar Rapper on the panel today.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
You got to wrap through your problems. What does that mean?
Speaker 2 (09:32):
The R is recognizing those unfamiliar thoughts and feelings. The
A and RAP is acknowledging it and then accepting it
because a lot of times we do stuff, but we
act like it didn't happen. So you recognize that, you
acknowledge it, and you accept it, and then you what's
the p you process through those challenges and problems with
a professional like Elliott. So recognize, acknowledge, accept and process.
(09:55):
All right, Maya, Well, we got about six minutes left,
So I do want to ask the baby, what message
would you like to convey to those struggling in silence
and even some of your reverend in the entertainment industry.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Like would I would go back to a couple of
things he just spoke on just going to therapy and
with you with the acronym that you just broke down,
like the order that you put it in recognizing and accepting,
and then the third one being processing, Like that's where
I'm at, Like to this, it started with me. It
took me so long to just recognizing and accept it,
you know what I mean. I probably recognized it early on,
(10:27):
but accepting it, that's something that's the stage I just
got to, you know what I mean, and processing it.
And you know, now I'm in the room with professionals,
with several professionals, I've learned a lot of information just
being on this stage with these great people for the
ten minutes we've been up here, you know what I mean.
So things that I would encourage other artists to do
is to just you know, speak up, you know, seek help,
have the conversations with people that make you uncomfortable, you
(10:50):
know what I mean. And just like you say, you know,
you're only as sick as your secrets. Like a lot
of the things that I go through, I've just been
conditioned just as a black man period. And I'm sure
plenty of people out here like you as black men
and women. Let's not just act like you know what
I mean, black men are up against the eyes or
you know what I mean, go through things, but we're
conditioning to just sweep things under the rug and you
know what I mean, and just navigate through them however
(11:11):
we can. And it's almost like, you know, we live
every day, day in and day out, like in survival mode,
you know, and that's something it's not healthy, but you know,
we're strong enough to survive. So with the strength that
we'll have if we're having these conversations and speaking with
professionals and sitting down and going to therapy, you know,
I would encourage other artists to do that. And you know,
just take the first step, you know what I mean,
(11:32):
the first step in the right direction, and I'm on
like my third or fourth step in it already. You know,
it just feels amazing, feels amazing.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
Oh and I just I just want to give you your flowers,
because the entertainment industry can be tough, social media can
be tough.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
Everybody got opinions, and I just met you. I don't
know you. All I know is the accolades you've.
Speaker 2 (11:52):
Received, and you know, different things you've done in your past.
But you know, loving yourself, being able to process through
your brother's suicide. Nobody knows what that journey has been
like for you. And so for you to be doing
what you're doing now, not only are you helping yourself
and your family, you're helping so many other people out here.
We talked about it earlier on a panel. A lot
(12:13):
of times people going through stuff they projected on others.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
So I just want you, young man.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I'm just say to you, keep doing what you're doing,
focus on you and your family and all that the
Baby Cares is going to do for our community.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
That's all that matters.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
But let's give him his flowers, y'all for what he's
doing with this important initiative to save lives.
Speaker 3 (12:33):
Can I explain it on something, please, Auntie?
Speaker 5 (12:35):
I want to ask Elliot because Elliott says, you know
you're only as your secrets, which I agree with, But
what about when you know you have to live certain
traumas out loud, like you know, when when things happen
where a family member commits to suicide and that is
a traumatic experience, But then you still have obligations, right
you still and they say, they say staying busy as
a response to trauma. What advice would you you give
(12:57):
the people who have to have to deal with their
traumas out loud in the pub to.
Speaker 6 (13:00):
Be fully, fully transparent. He was using words like acceptance,
but I want to add a word to that, and
you have to practice radical acceptance. What I mean by
that is like when you go through something, you got
to deal with it publicly. That's just where you are
at that moment. You have to literally just accept like
(13:20):
this is where I am in that moment and process
through it. However, you need to process through it when
you bury it and keep it a secret because I
have a public job, or because people see me or
because I'm in public, You're just gonna make yourself sicker.
Speaker 3 (13:33):
Like you really have to just accept. And here's the thing, Like.
Speaker 6 (13:37):
We are conditioned, like as a black culture, we're conditioned
to think, if you knew my pain, you would perceive
me as weak. So thus I have to hide that
pain so you perceive me as strong. But I'm telling y'all,
the strongest thing you.
Speaker 3 (13:51):
Could ever do is be you. Period.
Speaker 6 (13:55):
So if on that day me is processing a trauma,
then damn it, you're gonna have to just see me
processing a trust. That's just how it works. So it's
unfortunate sometimes that we have to process see things in public,
and it's unfortunate that social media does what it does.
But I don't give a damn. This is me and
on this day, this is how I have to show up.
And when you can show up as you every single day,
(14:17):
that is true strength.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Yes, thank you for adding that question. That was a
great question.
Speaker 2 (14:23):
You you can turn on ig on any get a
moment and see me in an ugly cris I don't care.
Speaker 1 (14:27):
You're gonna get who I am in that moment.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
Thank you, Elliott for that, Charlotmayne, what message of hope
would you like to leave everyone who's struggling in silence?
Speaker 3 (14:36):
Man, The message of hope is that you're not alone.
Speaker 5 (14:38):
And you don't realize that until you start sharing your story,
like I said earlier, until you start realizing that you know,
you're only a sick as your secrets. Like Elliot Connie said,
that's why it's so important for us to have spaces
like this. Man, this is community, right, And I thought
it was unique, the stuff that I was dealing with.
That's why I would keep it to myself. But then
(14:59):
when I started sharing it and realizing, like, no, there's
other people out there dealing with anxieties, other people out
there dealing with depression, there's other people out there dealing
with PTSD. This out there people out there dealing with
things that you know, I couldn't even comprehend. Like when
you just start sharing that story, man, you just form
this this village, and we got to get back to that.
We got to get back to being a village. We
got to get back to you know, lifting each other up.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
You know, I love that.
Speaker 5 (15:21):
I love that meme of that basketball player when he
had his head down and the brother just came and
helped them lift it up, like little simple things like that.
Speaker 3 (15:27):
So the hope is.
Speaker 5 (15:29):
That you're not alone. So just share your story and
you'll realize you're not alone.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Yes, thank you, I want to give our final words
to the baby.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
Anything else you'd like to share, all the things.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
I'm sorry, I'm mean to cut you off. I'm just
I'm excited, you know what I'm saying right now. I'm
just excited because all the information that these three great
people on the stage are sharing. This is this is
my life and real time, you know what I mean, Like,
this is really my life in real time. About a
week ago, I felt completely alone in my.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
Struggle and what I've been through.
Speaker 4 (16:01):
When I go sit down with him at Breakfast Club
last week, when I come sit down right here, I
met about a dozen people backstage before coming out here
as well as the what this is about two thousand
people in here, closely two thousand people in here, like
you know, to see everybody in here have similar interests
and you know, be seeking this information and have this
information impact everybody out here, and you know, get you
(16:21):
guys to just nod your head and agree. I'm up
here beside these guys, Like like, I feel like he's
talking to me. Everything you say, I feel like you're
talking to me. Everything they've set up here, I feel
like they're talking directly to me. So I'm just super
excited to just embark on this journey and start therapy
myself and I have, you know, as many conversations as
I can, Like I'm actually upset that I didn't bring
my nieces, my brother's kids with me, and my mom
(16:43):
with me, so you know, like, I'm just excited to
just you know, to leave here today and just to
go tell everybody, you know, all the great information that
I gained here today, and to just bring my family
along with me and others that I need along with
me on this.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
Journey of Hilla.
Speaker 1 (16:55):
I love that. Yes, give it up.
Speaker 2 (16:58):
So we're out of time now, but we got three
strong black men, and I just want to say to
each one of you black men, I'm always corning acronyms,
man manifesting a need, manifesting a need to be vulnerable,
to be transparent, to be okay with who you are being,
taking care of yourself and knowing that self care is
not selfish, right, and pouring back into your community. Y'all
(17:20):
give it up for these black men poor, helping to
erase stigma and shame around suicide in the black community.
Speaker 1 (17:26):
Thank y'all so much, and let's give it up for them.
Speaker 3 (17:29):
Thank you.
The Breakfast Club News
Hosts And Creators
Charlamagne Tha God
DJ Envy
Jess Hilarious
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