HBCU Community, you may remember Taraji P. Henson launching the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation — named after her father whom Henson believes had bipolar disorder — in 2018, which aims to reduce the stigma around mental health in the black community. Well, now she is opening up about her personal struggle with depression and anxiety, and it hits too close to home.
Fox News reports, during a recent interview with Self published Tuesday, the historically black Howard University graduate addressed her mood swings, heart palpitations and feelings of helplessness, saying “I noticed the mood swings, like one day I’d be up and the next day I’d be down, feeling like I don’t want to go out in public. Almost agoraphobic, like, ‘Ugh, too much to deal with.'”
She continued, “Feeling really awkward in my skin, feeling out of sorts. And just down, like Debbie Downer, like a dark cloud.”
Henson went on to discuss the pending warning signs and how she also could feel the anxiety she was facing on a consistent basis.
“There were days when my brain wouldn’t stop racing, which I would think of the most worst scenarios in the world, which would heighten my anxiety, and people were like, ‘You just need to meditate and [do] yoga and things like that,’ and I would do that but my brain would still race,” she said.
As for how she’s combating the struggles of depression and anxiety, Henson said she got help from a therapist, prays, and practices meditation, which she believed was crucial for her getting on the right track.
“For me, there was no shame when I started to recognize it,” she said. “It was like, I have to get some help because I’m the life of the party and when I go dark I go dark. I don’t want to leave the house and my friends started to notice me pulling back.”
Head over to Fox News to read more.
