My Day

By Dr. J. Ester Davis

988

I cannot think of a subject I am more familiar with than Mental Health.

At age 30, my brilliant, handsome, soccer star son #2 suffered a nervous breakdown.  He was among all things a professional student and jetsetter, loved fast cars and just 12 hours away from a double major in economics and finance.  I have written about our family journey since 1999, when he appeared on the cover of a major Texas newspaper.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month and I have witnessed a lot of changes to the system, been overly passionate about the nuance cycle affecting thousand of families.  With the able assistance of Google and their ‘word search’ system, our number one article where we have amassed serious national numbers has been ‘how to obtain a mental illness warrant”.  Another search engine was equally as caring.  There are so many line items to cover in mental illness cases.  How to navigate and pilot your way through the ‘jungle’  is what  I consider one of the obstacles families face when reporting a loved one.

To minimize the pain there is MetroCare.  There is 988. And there is a Dr. John Burruss MD and CEO of MetroCare who joined us unabashedly live!! on “The Ester Davis Show” at you tube.  Dr. Burruss was easy to talk to.  He was so familiar with the answers before the questions and all the ‘hot buttons’ for awaiting ears.  I love dialogue that carries its own audience.  Joining us on the broadcast was Tate Ringer, Chief Strategic, MetroCare, Wil Michael, GSR Sports, Publisher, Elite News. This subject resonates with one out of four families.  That is really high, which means you are NOT alone! If you need help the time to call is immediately.

Mental Health Month makes you aware of the helpful changes and the type of mental health traumas most common in the African American community.   Post-traumatic Stress Disorders is misunderstood. Substance use disorders, depression and the suicide numbers especially among African American males is a topic the NAACP (Dr. Sharon Middlebrooks, Dallas President), will tackle at their monthly meeting, Tuesday, May 16, 2023.  I cannot leave out Friendship West and their ‘call-to-readiness’ spotlight and dialogue on the suicide rate crisis.  Bottom line, the information is before you in abundance.  Get on board and get rid of the myths. We are depending on you.

 Dr. Burruss made us aware of the 988 number that can be made from your cell phone anywhere in the continental United States.  The people answering the phone are train professionals.

Esterdavis2000@gmail.com