By Jordan Hamilton
Blavk America Web
Taraji P. Henson sat down with Good Morning America recently to talk about her new book, ‘You Can Be A Good Friend,” offering mental health advice for children.
Taraji P. Henson – Mental Health Advice For Children:
Between sharing her journey in traditional interview style, she also shared her insight on an array of topics, picking questions one-by-one out of a hat. The actress wasted no time as she dipped into the hat and breezed through each question delivering a response that showed both personality and warmth. Unintentionally, the more questions she grabbed, the deeper the questions became. Eventually stumbling across a question focused on children and advice she would give to those struggling with bullying and mental health, Henson didn’t hesitate to answer with both empathy and support.
“First of all, to that baby, I would say, you are not alone. Number one. So no need to isolate and go in a corner and feel like there is no one in the world experiencing what you are going through. That is just false information,” Henson said. “Let me put it this way, there are billions of humans on this planet. So there is at least one other person, for sure, that’s going through what you’re going through. And the only way that you’re going to find out that you’re not alone is if you say something. And when you say something, the pressures release because it’s not a secret anymore. And then when you say something, I guarantee you’ll see 10 other hands go up…”
Henson really touched on the importance of speaking up, even when you’re afraid to do so. It was a lesson not only great for children, but people in general. Often times we don’t realize that so many other people are suffering because we choose not to speak up and speak out about the things that are bothering us. While it’s easier said than done, the sooner we realize that we are not alone.
“You know how they always say, ‘the squeaky wheel gets fixed?’ Well, when you say, ‘Hey, I don’t feel good,’ someone is going to come and try and help you. Trust me,” Henson said. “There is no need to suffer in silence. That is not being fair to yourself.”
Watch Taraji P. Henson share mental health advice for children below!
