Mental Health has seen a huge surge in the black community in recent years. Prominent figures like radio host, Charlamagne Tha God, has opened up about his mental struggles and even has a book about him having anxiety. Rapper, Kanye West, has been having a public meltdown as of lately while he displays his bi-polar behavior. People are becoming more in tune with their emotions and what they’re mentally experiencing. 

So, if healthy dialogue is being held, what could be the problem? The Mental Health Hustler has emerged with the rise of mental health in the black community. The Mental Health Hustler takes advantage of the conversations being had and uses it to gain attention to themselves. They know that mental health is the talk of the town and they want the awareness that come with. They want the attention so they can exploit it by anyway they see fit. 

I sat down with Jabril Hart on Episode 003 of the Black Mental Health Podcast and he explained that every few years a trend comes around and it gets a lot of attention and then it fades off. He believes that right now it’s cool to have a mental health issue. Evita Colon second those sentiments on our recent interview as well. “I don’t know what made it trendy to have some type of disorder, it’s real live stuff.” 

Both interviews made me question myself and my role of what I was trying to do as a Mental Health Advocate. Was I a Mental Health Hustler as well? I guess it depends on who you’re asking. From my perspective I didn’t know the struggles that I was going through personally had anything to do with Mental Health until I heard Rwenshaun Miller connect words like trauma, depression and suicide with things that I have actually gone through. 

I may have waited until it became a popular topic to discuss it but I see it no different than women in the #Metoo movement who waited for other women to speak up first. Is Mental Health a fade or a trend? Maybe. But as long as people are generating these healthy conversations, I think we can weed out the hustlers. (Pun intended lol)

Thanks for reading,

Reginald A. Howard
Mental Health Advocate