Acknowledge your Feelings
MENTAL HEALTH UPDATE
The curtain has been peeled back on grim realities of our world that are painful to look at and to face. But we have to. We cannot deny they are there and that they have been there for far too long. To be silent about structural racism is to be complicit.
And we are all feeling sad. We are experiencing trauma and grief.
Let’s acknowledge that pain and suffering at this moment is normal. It makes us human. It’s okay to sit in that pain and to feel it deeply.
Pain comes in varying degrees and forms. Trauma affects us in myriad ways, emotionally and physically. It has immediate and lasting effects. And in medicine, addressing it head on is an essential part of caring for patients.
Grief is part of the human experience. The stages of grief are natural and define our healing process. They are not linear or prescriptive. But understanding the stages can help us make sense of our feelings of anger, loss, sadness, and fear of the unknown.
It’s when we don’t acknowledge and address difficult feelings that we suffer even more, mentally and physically.
We have suffered from ignoring the extent of racism in this country for far too long.
And now that we are uncovering deep wounds, we owe it to ourselves to face uncomfortable feelings. We must mourn and grieve together. It’s normal, healthy, and our only path forward.
P.S. In keeping with this conversation, I’ve invited my friend and OBGYN Amanda Williams, MD to talk about her advocacy for women’s health, the pandemic, and its disproportionate effect on people of color. We will convene on Facebook LIVE on Tuesday June 9 at 2 pm ET.
P.P.S. Today DC Mayor Muriel Bowser renamed a section of 16th street Black Lives Matter Plaza and painted it accordingly. It is a joy to behold!