On Wednesday, May 1, Bishop T.D. Jakes was the closeout speaker for a Detroit ministry’s “Breakthrough” conference where he preached “Your Answer Is Blowing In The Wind,” and touched on mental health issues in the African American community.
“The psychologist’s appointment book is filled to overflowing. Billions of dollars are spent in this country every year on medication,” said Jakes, addressing the crowd at Second Ebenezer Church, led by Bishop Edgar and Elder Sheila Vann.
“We are taking more medications than we have ever taken before, not just for diabetes or hypertension or things like that. We’re taking medication to sleep at night. And then wake up feeling dull and need another pill to make us feel alert.”
As the Dallas mega pastor addressed the 6,000-member congregation, he noted, “We are taking medication to manage our emotions and our moods. Some of you have some happy pills in your pocket tonight”—an observation that drew laughter from the audience.
But in a moment of serious reflection, the eloquent speaker raised an interesting issue, observing how much more depressed people of color seem today, even though, as a collective race, we enjoy freedom and modern conveniences our ancestors never experienced.
“It is amazing that our parents survived Jim Crow and their parents survived slavery without taking one pill at all,” he said.
“Slaves ran through the night, through the woods, through the trees, slept up under bridges and tunnels, and went through the underground railroad hoping to escape dogs barking behind them, and they seemed not to be bi-polar.”
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article courtesy of EEWMagazine.com
T.D. Jakes Talks Mental Health In The Black Community: Asks Why We Find It Difficult To Cope’ was originally published on praisecleveland.com
