I’d describe myself as a multi-hyphenate therapist musician, content, creator, wife, and mother.
I’ve always been a sensitive kid, a deep thinker, and a heavy feeler.
I was diagnosed with sensorineural hearing loss in elementary school and received my first pair of hearing aids.
Despite this, my emotional outlet was music, specifically singing, from a young age. I needed that music outlet and was pretty great at it!
As an only child, I grew up spending a lot of time alone and knew what I wanted from life by the time I was 16. I was always fascinated by people and often wondered why they did the things they did.
I listened deeply to the people around me partly because I had trouble hearing them and partly because receiving the gift of a story was always my favorite gift. Diving headfirst into a helping profession was a no-brainer for me.
Psychology and therapy called my name.
I’ve always known I was different and I collected an eclectic group of friends that reflected that. My friends would describe me as quirky, eccentric, forgetful, on the soft-spoken side, a chronic people pleaser, a little too “go with the flow,” and very sweet.
Fast forward to after my college graduation when I finally received my PMDD diagnosis, I realized so much of my “feeling different” from other people growing up was me experiencing thoughts of hopelessness the week before my period.
I thought it was normal – that everyone felt like that – until it started to interrupt my life and functioning.
A month after I graduated college I started dating my now husband. Our relationship would get very tumultuous one week out of the month and I would become so sensitive to any change in tone or furrow of his brow.
After my diagnosis, I understood that it was RSD or rejection-sensitive dysphoria. My PMDD diagnosis was a huge relief, to say the least, and it continues to inform my self-care routine.
I got married in 2020 and had my son in 2022. My son’s unexpected arrival in July caused me to spiral into postpartum depression where I genuinely thought the best thing I could be for my son was dead.
It was a scary time, to say the least, but my faith in Jesus was renewed by a spiritual encounter while being hospitalized for postpartum preeclampsia.
The demands of new motherhood far exceeded my ability to cope. My forgetfulness and tendency to go with the flow were suddenly more handicapping than usual.
I felt defeated. A deep sense of shame bubbled up within, silencing me and driving me away from my husband and friends.
When working with my clients who were Black women with ADHD, I was finally able to look into a mirror and see that I had similar traits. I didn’t learn in my graduate program that ADHD presents differently in women and specifically in Black women.
I also didn’t learn in my formal studies that there is a connection between PMDD and ADHD meaning that people who have ADHD are several times more likely to suffer from PMDD.
My parents are both community activists in NYC who started a nonprofit to help students of color get into medical schools.
I always saw that example growing up and the @blkgirlmental Instagram page is an extension of that tradition.
I started it in 2020 to combine my love of graphic design, psychology, and like-minded community.
BlackGirlMental is currently transitioning to a 501c3 nonprofit status and has since started a benevolence fund, a virtual psycho-support group for Black single mothers, a YouTube web show highlighting Black female wellness practitioners, and numerous virtual wellness events.
The richest part of cultivating this community is meeting like-minded professionals and collaborating to create something innovative and nourishing for Black women.
It’s become so much more than I could’ve hoped for and it’s only just the beginning!
Thank you so much Morgan for your amazing and very honest blog post! Your story is so relatable and inspiring. Everyone please comment, share, and subscribe and be sure to follow and support the wonderful work that Morgan is doing! Thank you always for your support warriors xoxo Instagram: @blkgirlmental Website:blackgirlmental.podia.com