5 Signs of Mental Distress That Are Often Missed in Black and Brown Communities

Mental health issues don't always look like tears or breakdowns. In BIPOC communities, where survival, silence, and strength are often normalized, mental distress can hide in plain sight. In My case, it did for sure. What seemed like anger, disobedience and indignance was actually, trauma, pain and deflection. Not growing up being able to express Myself taught Me how to mask My true thoughts and feelings. Therapy and self-care has taught Me how to express them and work through them. I'm so grateful that when I sought help, it was available.

Let’s talk about 5 signs that are often overlooked—and why it’s time we pay closer attention.

1. Chronic Fatigue or Physical Pain

For many, depression shows up in the body first: constant exhaustion, body aches, headaches, or even digestive issues. These symptoms are often brushed off as stress, aging, or “just being tired,” but they can signal deeper emotional pain.

If your body feels heavy all the time, your spirit might be carrying too much. Like for Myself, My fibromyalgia diagnosis made so much more sense when I found out that it's emotional pain that is so triggering to the nervous system that it presents as physical pain.

2. Overworking or Hustle Culture

In marginalized communities, working nonstop is sometimes glorified. But for many, being in constant motion is a trauma response—an effort to outrun anxiety, poverty, or worthlessness. It’s not always drive. Sometimes it’s distress. Those thoughts that catch up with us when we stay still can't be avoided. Only working through them and the problems that cause them cone up, can stop them.

3. Isolation or Withdrawal

When someone stops texting, disappears from social spaces, or starts pulling away, it’s easy to call them flaky or antisocial. But isolation is often one of the first signs of depression or emotional burnout. Silence doesn’t mean nothing’s wrong. I am known for isolating when something is wrong; I usually say I don't want to burden anyone with My problems, when in reality, I feel like I am a problem for having problems.

4. Explosive Anger or Irritability

Unprocessed pain often turns inward—or outward. Someone snapping easily, yelling more, or showing rage out of nowhere may not be “angry for no reason.” That anger could be covering up fear, trauma, or deep emotional wounds. Imagine how happy I was when I was told that My outbursts were a way to put up boundaries an protect Myself in moments I felt unsafe. That made Me stop treating Myself as the 'bad guy' and recognize that if I need to blow up, I'm past the point of when I should have walked away. Now, I pay more attention to things and people who cause Me to feel the need to protect Myself and maneuver around them differently.

5. The “Strong Friend” Persona

The ones checking on everyone else. Showing up for every event. Posting positive quotes online while falling apart offline. High-functioning depression is real—and dangerous. Just because someone seems okay doesn’t mean they are. This feels like My life, in fact I just made a video about being the "strong" friend the other day. When I was incapacitated in 2023 after My seizures and hospitalization, I felt so alone. I'm the strong friend, no one thought to visit, check on Me or noticed that it took Me over a year to start socializing again.

🧠 Let’s Look Differently

Mental distress doesn’t always match the stereotypes. It can wear a smile. It can show up at work on time. It can live inside the people we admire most.

In July—and always—let’s break the silence. Check in. Look deeper. Ask twice.

🧡 Healing starts with being seen.

Check on your strong friend today.

Have you ever found yourself hiding your struggles with anxiety, depression or other mental health challenges? If so, comment below, I want to hear your story too.