By Kaylee Hayes | Reporter
On Monday, Baylor’s Rho Eta chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., hosted an open forum, “Let’s Get EmpoweRED,” highlighting and discussing women’s mental health, substance abuse and finding community at Baylor as a Black person. Attendees included DST members, Baylor staff, alumna and students.
The Rho Eta Delta’s gathered speakers from the CARE team, BARC, My Sister My Self, the Baylor Counseling Center, Campus Living and Learning, Baylor School of Social Work alumna and a Baylor university librarian, archivist and oral historian.
The conversation began around mental health stigmas. A common topic emerged: the scarcity mindset and the tendencies to devalue or minimize experiences. Many forum participants voiced how they felt there is often a stigma around therapy and mental health within the Black community.
Haley Thomas, the recovery program manager for the BARC noted the specific stigma that women of color need to “be strong” or “hold it down” right now “especially in this season where the world is going off right now — like the external factors are really heavy.”
Substance abuse and mental health issues are frequently related, Thomas said.
An emphasis was placed on therapy being for everyone, and the scarcity tendencies were explored. When a person minimizes an experience they’ve been through or devalues something of note, they are practicing having a scarcity mindset, Adrienne Cain Darough, assistant director and clinical associate professor for the Institute of Oral History, said.
“Anybody can come to counseling. Even if you’re just having a good time, and you’re just wanting to make sure that you’re staying on the right track,” Dr. Renissa Norman, a licensed professional counselor who practices under the Baylor Counseling Center, said.
Courtney Streat, the assistant residence hall director for University Parks, shared similar sentiments.
“Sometimes when we get in that mindset of like, well, I’m going to sacrifice. I’m not going to go because I know somebody else needs this more, or I’m going to go without because I know that it can help this person more. No, help you too,” Streat said.
Streat brought up the “tyranny of the urgent,” and said that “sometimes you already have the answers you are looking for inside of you but have not spent the time feeling and/or healing and doing the work.”
The EmpoweRED discussion also emphasized the importance of reaching out to friends and community support during tough times.
“No one is their own source for everything … it’s just not practical to be your own source,” Streat said.