BALTIMORE — May is mental health awareness month and medical professionals are shedding light concerning how mental health often gets overlooked in minority communities.
Fighting silent battles is often a struggle for many of people on a daily basis. This month, Charles Robinson III lost his battle to the struggle of mental health, so it's important to identify the signs to look for to know when it’s time to seek help.
“Charles is a good person. He was a good, a great dad, that’s all he talked about was being a dad all the time, he loved being a dad,” Imani Alford, girlfriend of Robinson, said.
“He was a provider for everyone, so I guess he felt like he couldn’t be sad or he couldn’t act sad because he was a provider. A lot of people depended on him,” Alford said.
Known on Instagram as "Hotboy Chuckie," they shared a son in their blended family. But earlier this month, Robinson took to social media to give his final words before ultimately taking his own life.
“I know I’m loved, I know I can make money, I know I can turn s*** around. But it’s like, I just be sad, I just be sad,” Robinson said.
Xiomara Arrieta is a certified trauma specialist who said maintaining your mental health is just as important as any other part of your body.
“I think that as Black and brown people, we face a lot of issues. And, I think when it comes to mental health, a lot of people feel like, that's one more thing,” Arrieta said.
“Mental health is essentially being well in the mind, it's essentially practicing good habits that make you feel good and make you feel healthy,” Arrieta added.
And there are several ways to identify when it’s a good time to seek help if you’re struggling in this area.
“If people don't feel right, and they know what I mean, if they're feeling nervous, or sad, or overwhelmed. If you're having issues in sleep, appetite, different than what you know of yourself. You know, if you are feeling like, I'm not really responding the same way, I'm having a hard time,” Arrieta said.
Those can often times be indicators that it’s time to seek professional help.
“But you know, a lot of people and particularly in the Black and brown community are holding pain and things that are misdirected, it's just simply not for us. And it's ok to say we don't want that anymore,” Arrieta said.
Suicide is the 11th leading cause of death in the United States and in 2021, men died by suicide 3.9 times more than women. The tragic ending is something Alford wishes could’ve been different for Robinson and their family.
“If you feel like that once then, you’re probably gonna feel like that again so don’t think that it’s just gonna go away. Get ongoing services, seek out the help that you need and keep up with it,” Alford said.
If you or a loved one are battling with thoughts of suicide there is help and support available to you.
You can call 988 from your mobile phone to speak with a trained professional and get the help you need.
