A holistic approach to healing for black people
“Medicine has until recently gone on the supposition that illness should be treated and cured by itself, yet voices are now heard which declare this view to be wrong, and demand the treatment of the sick person and not of the sickness. The same demand is forced upon us in the treatment of psychic suffering.”
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Hey you, today I wanted to talk about holistic healing as an essential part of self-liberation and perseverance. My last video, on more social awareness oriented channel, was on the subject of black mental health in white spaces and how black people need to take a different approach to their wellbeing than that of other races/ particularly in white societies and spaces.
I often take the understanding that just like how it would be harmful to your garden if you decided to treat all your plants as one plant – the same can be taken into account when we speak about the human experience, pain, and healing. Human´s and their experiences come in a vast ray of variety and for the best approach and path to healing, it is important to take that into consideration on our journey towards not only more healthier mental spaces but also in putting an end to passed down trauma/s.
A guiding step towards a more holistic approach to healing:
- Be aware of your context – whether from a social stance to a personal stance or just to your own family history. A lot of families talk but few really DO talk as a form of sharing the familial trauma, pain or even destructive coping mechanism that they might even label as “tradition” or “just the way we do things in this family”. This is why making space for open and vulnerable conversations within your family, even if it is just the family you share four walls with – is important because it creates a holistic understanding of not only your context on existence and upbringing but also what you might have inherited that needs addressing.
- Slow and steady is just fine. Often on our healing journey, we might find ourselves in an ” I see a problem – I fix it and all is perfect” approach, when deep-rooted healing is sometimes a slower but steady journey and the journey is just as important as the destination, just like the practice of being and doing better is just as important as the performance of being better. So take your time – get connected to your purpose with your healing, use it as a tool of self-discovery and a chance to plant yourself on firmer more healing ground.
- Work with healers, therapists or healing facilitators who are not foreign to your own context of existence as well as your intersectional struggles. I often hear a lot of black people wanting to seek healing and therapy say that the only reason they are hesitant is that they can´t find therapists or healers who will understand the context of their lives nor their deep-rooted (sometimes current) and systemic traumas. Thankfully, as more black people do the healing needed for themselves, they are also returning to the community to guide others through their own haze of both passed down and current pain and struggles.
All to say that healing and thriving is a path best taken with awareness to both detail and the individual’s unique context. There is also lots of help and guidance to be found within our own community especially from either healed elders or safe spaces created to foster healing and intentional emotional processing. If we can´t find such people or spaces- I hope we find the wisdom and courage to become that or create that which we seek.
So, that is this soul Sunday short and sweet exploration of holistic healing and health. A passion I am very passionate about because of the wonders I have seen it bring about on my own path as well as what I believe it to be capable of in our homes and community.
I hope you are finding healing and peace on whatever path you currently are on and that it fosters empowerment and thriving wherever you are blooming.
with love, light and healing
