Myra McNair, owner and founder of Anesis Therapy and recently named 2022 Woman to Watch by Brava Magazine, is the featured guest starting season 5 of Black Oxygen on grief, loss and mourning. In this episode, Myra and I discuss the collective grief present as a result of the pandemic, grieving in the Black church, the role of social media in processing grief and so much more. We also discuss the mental health pandemic that is happening concurrently with the coronavirus pandemic. Her clinic, Anesis Therapy, had over 400 people on the waitlist this summer. In reaching out and seeking mental health support, Myra suggests to not wait until you are in a crisis – get on a waitlist as soon as possible. Towards the end of the episode Myra provides suggestions on how to hold space for each other, how to listen and a list of app that could be helpful on your grieving journey.

One of the biggest stories to come out of the Tokyo Olympics was U.S. gymnast Simone Biles’s decision to press pause on competing and withdraw from some events in order to protect her mental health.

In the days following Oprah Winfrey’s interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle about how the British Royal family treated the biracial American Duchess and her baby, some well-known mental health experts weighed in. Several of them said what Meghan experienced was stressful, but didn’t meet the clinical definition of trauma.