Gshots

08/25/2026

𝟚•𝟞•𝟚𝟞

Getting to capture the milestone of 6 months is always something beautiful, but getting to capture my niece’s 6-month milestone is a Blessing I’ll forever be thankful for. 🥹🤍

Watching you grow is SO special, and being able to capture these little moments along the way makes it even sweeter. 📸

**Happy ½ Birthday, sweet girl
(Late Post)

08/23/2026

08/23/2026

- 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐀𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓 -

“𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞.”

How many of us grew up hearing some version of this?? I know I can openly say that I did !

For many of our parents, grandparents, and generations before them, conversations about mental health looked VERY different than they do today. For years, having a mental health condition could mean being labeled “𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐲,” “𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞,” 𝐨𝐫 “𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭. People experiencing mental illness were often misunderstood, mistreated, institutionalized, isolated, or simply expected to keep their struggles within the family.

So when we hear things like “𝙒𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨,” “𝘼𝙞𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙮𝙤𝙪,” 𝙤𝙧 “𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙮,” it’s worth asking:

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐖𝐄 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭?

Sometimes stigma is passed down without us ever stopping to question where it came from.

Our older generations lived during times when mental health was misunderstood and treated very differently. Mental-health care, professional standards, patient protections, and our understanding of mental illness have evolved significantly since then.

That doesn’t mean we blame previous generations for what they believed - 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐲 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝.

Privacy is one thing—but silence can sometimes teach us not to talk about hurt, difficult experiences, emotions, or things we simply don’t understand. Which ultimately puts us in a worst place than we are able to recognize, until we no longer have control.

And just because we don’t talk about something doesn’t mean it stops affecting us.

Sometimes healing starts with asking:

“𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞—𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞?”

Did your family openly discuss mental health growing up?

𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧!

❤️ Yes, we talked about it
👍🏾 No, not at all
😮 Only when something was “really wrong”
😂 Mental health? We didn’t even use those words!

Let’s talk about it. No judgment—just learning, understanding & growing. 🤎🌿

08/21/2026

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to “𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝒪𝓊𝓉 𝐿𝑜𝓊𝒹” 🌿🤎

I created this page to bring awareness, education, and more open conversations about mental health, counseling, and support. Mental health is such a broad topic, yet for years it has been heavily stigmatized and misunderstood in our society.

As an African American woman who grew up in a very rural community, mental health was rarely discussed. Some of the most common things I heard—and still hear—are: “What’s therapy gonna do?” “I don’t need help.” “I ain’t talking about my problems.” I could go on and on.

The point is, counseling can look different for everyone. It isn’t about someone “fixing” you or telling you how to live your life. There is so much more to mental health and counseling than many of us have been exposed to.

As a graduate student in the Clinical Mental Health Counseling program at UNCP, I’ve recognized so many misconceptions that I was taught or personally held over the years. My program has challenged me to explore more, keep an open mind, and better understand myself, others, and some of the reasons we think, feel, and behave the ways we do.

I’ve also learned how one bad experience, misconception, stigma, or opinion about therapy can completely shape someone’s understanding of what counseling is and what its purpose can be. Which is why my advice is always - just try it out yourself !

With that being said, I’ve become passionate about educating my community and the people around me. I want us to ask questions, challenge what we’ve always been told, learn more about ourselves, and continue seeing the best in the people around us. I truly believe that understanding mental health can change the way we understand ourselves, other people, and the world we live in.

You may not agree with everything shared here—and that is completely okay. This page is about learning and having conversations, not telling anyone what they have to believe. Most importantly, I want Healing Out Loud to be a SAFE space. A place where people feel comfortable asking questions, wanting to learn more, and simply being okay with not knowing. None of us will ever know everything—and that’s why we keep learning.

While this page will intentionally highlight mental health within communities of color, because those are communities I especially hope to reach, everyone is welcome here. So, Let’s learn. Let’s talk. Let’s challenge the stigma. Let’s heal 𝐎𝐮𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐮𝐝. 🤎🌿


(𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: I am a Clinical Mental Health Counseling graduate student, 𝐧𝐨𝐭 a licensed mental health professional. The information shared on this page is for educational purposes and is 𝐧𝐨𝐭 therapy, therapeutic advice, diagnosis, or a substitute for care from a licensed professional) !

05/02/2026

GR🎓D SZN

05/02/2026

4.18 📸🎈