Taraji P. Henson reflects on what ultimately drove her to raise awareness for mental health issues, especially in the African American community, and she talks about the foundation she created in honor of her late father.
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00:00 We're back with Taraji P. Henson.
00:02 So, can I ask you about the work you've done
00:04 around mental health?
00:05 Yes.
00:06 The stigma around mental health
00:08 is really hurting this country.
00:09 It is.
00:10 And not enough people speak out about it,
00:11 which is why I treasure you being here.
00:13 What got this issue on your radar screen?
00:15 Why is it important to you?
00:16 Well, it's important to me because
00:19 actually I founded my foundation,
00:21 the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation,
00:23 named after my father, out of necessity.
00:27 I suffered a, there he is.
00:29 Hi, Daddy, I miss you.
00:30 I suffered trauma in my life and so did my son.
00:34 And when it came time for us to sit down
00:36 and talk about it and get some help,
00:38 it became an issue because
00:40 you have to be culturally competent
00:43 in order for me to feel safe sharing my deepest secrets
00:46 and what my fears and being vulnerable.
00:49 So when it came time to look for
00:53 a therapist that looked like me, there were none.
00:55 It was like looking for a unicorn.
00:58 I mean, I'm not saying they don't exist,
00:59 but it wasn't easily accessible.
01:02 So I discussed it with my best friend
01:04 who also had her bouts with anxiety.
01:08 And so we decided to do something about it.
01:11 And I think in the African American community,
01:14 it's been such a taboo.
01:15 We really don't take care of our mental.
01:17 We don't, and we should.
01:19 We suppress a lot.
01:21 And when we do express ourselves, it comes off as rage.
01:26 Well, we have a lot to be upset about, right?
01:29 (audience applauding)
01:32 And not to shun those feelings,
01:35 but they need to be channeled
01:37 or they need to be expressed in a healthy way.
01:41 And what I found disturbing
01:42 is that we can talk about our thyroid,
01:44 I can sit up here and talk about my gastritis,
01:46 but when it comes to our mental,
01:47 which is all a part of total healthcare,
01:50 we miss that beat.
01:51 And that's because for so long,
01:54 we've been told to pray our problems away.
01:56 We've been demonized.
01:58 We've been misdiagnosed.
02:01 It's a lot of trust issues.
02:03 So I decided to do something about it.
02:05 And I think the misconception with celebrities
02:08 and people that you look up to
02:10 in film and television is that we got it,
02:13 somehow we got it all together just because we have money.
02:16 Well, money doesn't make your issues go away.
02:19 Because when they yell cut on set,
02:21 and I take this wig off and these lashes,
02:24 he looked at my hair like, "That's a wig?"
02:26 But when the Taraji and the limelight comes off,
02:30 I go home to real problems just like everybody else
02:32 that money can't solve.
02:34 But why'd you name it after your dad?
02:37 Because my father was a Vietnam vet
02:39 and he suffered from his own mental issues
02:41 and he was very vocal about it.
02:43 That was important, it made an impression on me.
02:46 'Cause then I would hang out with my white friends
02:48 and they would be like,
02:49 "Girl, let's do lunch at 11."
02:50 Oh no, I have my standing appointment with my therapist.
02:52 And I was like,
02:53 "I want a standing appointment with a therapist."
02:56 (laughing)
02:56 I need one!
02:57 I need one of those!
02:59 You touch on something that's so important.
03:01 Yeah.
03:02 You know, the anxieties we all feel,
03:03 I always wonder why are we all completely paralyzed
03:06 by fear, anxiety, self-talk, all the stuff that happens.
03:10 I think you're more connected to that than a lot of us.
03:13 How does that affect you?
03:14 I mean, I think I have to deal with a lot of my things
03:18 when I'm preparing to portray a character.
03:21 If I'm lying to the girl in the mirror,
03:23 then how can I tell this character's truth?
03:26 So I can't miss those beats in my life.
03:28 So acting to me has become very therapeutic.
03:31 Not to say that I don't need a therapist,
03:33 'cause I do need a professional,
03:34 but I need to speak to a professional.
03:36 But I'm just very aware of who I am
03:39 because this is my instrument, so I have to be.
03:42 Why do you think...
03:44 (audience applauding)
03:45 And again, I respect your honesty about this,
03:48 and I suspect in some ways acting is therapeutic for you
03:51 'cause it forced you to confront some of those demons.
03:52 Yes, absolutely.
03:53 What needs to happen in the African American community?
03:56 What needs to happen?
03:57 Yeah, for folks to embrace this more.
03:59 We need to start talking about it more.
04:01 I think, and what I'm seeing activity just by me launching
04:06 and going public with the launch of my foundation,
04:09 I'm starting to see chitter-chatter
04:10 and people actually talking about it
04:12 because you put a face to it.
04:14 'Cause I feel like my fans pretty much,
04:16 you guys trust me, right?
04:17 Yes, yeah, they do.
04:19 Right, they trust me.
04:20 And I think when you see someone that you trust
04:23 and you've looked up to for so long say,
04:25 "Hey, it's okay, I'm suffering too,"
04:27 then it makes you go, "Oh," it's like a sigh of relief,
04:30 like I'm not the only one.
04:31 I mean...
04:32 That's right, no, you're right.
04:33 So when we ask our audience, and we do this, guys,
04:35 we ask you a lot of times,
04:37 the reason we do these surveys,
04:38 and they're pretty professionally done,
04:39 is to find out what's bothering America.
04:41 The biggest epidemic we have right now is loneliness.
04:44 People just don't feel connected,
04:45 and so they don't have the usual tactics
04:47 like talking to your mom or a best friend
04:50 or a group of people that you hang with.
04:51 So what's a tactic that you use personally to get past it?
04:54 I'm...
04:55 To get through your day.
04:56 I mean, you know, I make sure I keep in touch
04:58 with my friends, and I have such a great core of friends
05:01 that check on me.
05:03 So it's all about the people you have around you too,
05:06 you know, get off the internet, get off the social media,
05:10 put the phones down, reconnect with humanity again.
05:13 (audience applauding)
05:14 You know what, you're a beautiful person
05:16 on the outside and on the inside.
05:17 Thank you so much.
05:17 Oh, you're beautiful, thank you.
05:20 Thank you for watching.
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