Why Taraji P. Henson Values Mental Health Awareness | Oz Wellness - video Dailymotion

Dr. Oz

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.

Transcript

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.

05:20 Don't forget to subscribe and turn on notifications

05:23 so you never miss out on new videos to live the good life.

Why Taraji P. Henson Values Mental Health Awareness | Oz Wellness

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