Practicing Black self-care for the family

This blog was written as part of Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's Black Lives Matter program initiative. Learn  more about the program and corresponding events here.

When was the last time you practiced self-care by taking the time to care for your mental and physical health, not just buying things that make you feel good? While there is nothing wrong with quality retail therapy there are just some things that money cannot buy. 2020 was a whirlwind of a year, 2021 has held no punches this far and it seems like the world doesn't stop. It’s at this time that you take active steps to make sure the one thing you can control – even to a small degree – is safe: your mental health.

I’m sure you’ve heard that you should apply your oxygen mask before helping others in the event of an emergency on a plane. In the same way, you cannot help someone else if you can’t help yourself, and in the Black family dynamic, this is heavily underlined. The collective trauma of COVID and the loss of life – however it may be – can be a lot to process for adults and growing minds of children and teens. There are questions you don’t know the answers to that you might not have the capacity to answer.

In any case, it’s essential to find things you enjoy doing. Allow yourself to feel the emotions you’re feeling and pay attention to them. Create boundaries for yourself and how you interact with others, and in doing so, try to focus on your coping mechanisms and your social media intake.

A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself questions like:

• "Do I need a break?"
• "Do I need to have this conversation?"
• "Do I want to do this right now?"

Treat yourself with care, not as an emergency response, but as a daily way of living. In this time of constant change, you are your best constant. Suppose you need guidance in finding methods of self-care amid the state of the world. In that case, the Library offers programming that focuses on the self-preservation of people of color.

Join the Library for a special self-care Facebook Live event called “The Nuances and Need of Self-Care for People of Color” on Thursday, September 9, at 6 p.m. to engage in an intimate discussion about self-care, the importance of developing a routine that is beneficial for your health & wellness and how to psychologically manage in these unprecedented times.

Register

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This blog was written by Ellie Howie, a library associate at ImaginOn: the Joe and Joan Martin Center.