The Breakfast Club - Mental Wealth Expo: DaBaby Talks Therapy, Mental Health In His Community + More

Episode Date: October 19, 2024

DaBaby Talks Therapy, Mental Health In His Community at the 2024 Mental Wealth Expo. Listen For More!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Have grace with yourself. You're trying your best. And you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing.

Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman,

Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Flash, slam, another one gone. Bash, bam, another one gone. The crack of the bat and another one gone. The tip of the cap, there's another one gone. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history, like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama

who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you.

Haunting is crawling out from the shadows, and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you? Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, 1974. George Foreman was champion of the world. Ali was smart, and he was handsome. The story behind The Rumble in the Jungle is like a Hollywood movie. But that is only half the story. There's also James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. All the biggest black artists on the planet. Together in Africa. It was a big deal. Listen to Rumble, Ali, Foreman,

and The Soul of 74 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper

into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And I am Shanti Doss. I'm moderating this incredible chat that we're about to have. Next up, we have an extraordinary young man with a great story who is doing some incredible stuff for the community. Now, let's give it up for Grammy-nominated recording artist DaBaby. There you go. Make some noise for the 704 in here. DaBaby in here.

Yes. And last but certainly not least, we have Mr. Elliot Connie. He is a licensed psychotherapist. Give it up for Elliott. All right, all right. Y'all ready? What's up? So my first question is going to be for you, DaBaby. Yes, ma'am. Again, thank you for joining us. I appreciate you having me.

Thank you for being here, my brother. Beautiful space to be in. I appreciate y'all welcoming me with open arms. I appreciate all y'all for being here today, too. That's right. So can you share with us what inspired you to start this mental health nonprofit in honor of your loved one? And what specific challenges you aim to address within the black community regarding mental health and suicide? First and foremost, what inspired me to embark on my mental health journey and just creating this initiative in honor of my brother is this being something that I need first and foremost,

you know what I mean? And not just me bringing other people and challenging them to, you know, embark on a mental health journey, but this is something I need, something my brother's kids need, my nieces, my nephew. My brother left four kids behind

when he took his life, you know, to suicide back in 2020. So these resources that I'm creating and these tools that I'm, you know, putting in front of people, these are tools that I'm using in real tools that I'm putting in front of people, these are tools that I'm using in real time. I'm not just telling somebody else to go do it. Even me being in this room and getting in front of people like this

and getting on panels like this, every conversation I have, it takes me a step along the way in the journey of healing myself. So I feel like it's super important, not just for me but everybody else, just to feel the healing in real time and, you know, see how good it feels. It's something that I'm super excited to just give somebody else the opportunity to do as well. That's awesome. May I ask you what your brother's name is? Glenn Johnson.

Glenn? Glenn Johnson, yes, ma'am. Glenn. Yes, ma'am. So I honor your brother's name. Let's all honor his brother right now. I appreciate that. And his memory.

That is so important. So mental health and suicide are often considered taboo subjects in the black community. You know, I certainly know from firsthand experience, my father died by suicide, my best friend in 2014, and I came really close to taking my own life in 2015. So I want to ask you, Connie and, I'm sorry, Elliot, Connie and Charlemagne, what are some of the key barriers you have identified that prevent open discussions and access to mental health resources in our community? I'll start with you, Charlemagne, and all that you're doing with the Mental Wealth Alliance. What was it? What was the question again? What are some of the key barriers that you've seen that prevent open discussions around suicide in our community?

Man, people don't want to be perceived as crazy. That's why I always say in order to eradicate the stigma around mental health, people cannot be afraid to tell their story. And I think a lot of times, you know, in the black community, we don't do ourselves no favors by keeping secrets. You know, I've been dealing with anxiety and, you know, bouts of depression my whole life, but it wasn't until I started, you know, having these conversations about it and telling my own story that I realized there were so many people that was dealing with the same thing, in particular, my father, right? And I tell this story all the time, but it was 2018. I'm home in Montsquin, South Carolina. It was the week of Thanksgiving. My cousin, who was 25 at the

time, he had just completed suicide. I got that term from Shanti, by the way, completed suicide. He had just completed suicide at 25 years old. And he used to do like a lot of work with my father in the neighborhood because my father's in the construction. And my father called me and he had just read my second book, Shook One, Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me. And my cousin completed suicide. And that was the first time my father revealed to me that he had been going to therapy two and three times a week and that he tried to commit suicide you know 30 plus years ago you know that he had been on 10 to 12 different medications in South Carolina for his for his mental health and so I remember asking my mom I said to my mom I said

yo you know pops was dealing with all this and she said I thought he was playing crazy to get a check so it's like those are the type of things that people will be wanting to have conversations about, but they just don't because they think people are going to think you're just playing crazy to get a check. So we just all got to, you know, tell our stories. Absolutely. You got to be more open and vulnerable. Elliot, would you like to add to that? I mean, what else do you think we can do more to open up discussions and access to mental health resources in our community? I think, I mean, I agree with everything Charlemagne said.

I think another barrier to mental health issues is pride. And I think we're proud of the wrong things. And sometimes pride makes us afraid of judgment. But the truth is, we need to learn how to be proud of the whole journey and the whole story. Like someone like Charlemagne, the guy, he's an incredible person that's accomplished incredible things. But when you learn that he struggled with anxiety and depression, that provides context to his accomplishments. So we need to learn to be proud of the entire picture instead of just being proud of the entire picture instead of just being

proud of the positive picture. And when we can do that, then we have the opportunity for true healing. So to answer that question, like how do we open up more dialogue and more access to mental health? We have to be learned to be proud of our entire selves. And when we can do that, then that opens up everything and you have the possibility to heal from anything. Yeah, give it up for that. I remember when my dad died by suicide, when we were a baby, we tried everything, we said everything, rather, that he died from other than suicide because we didn't want to tell the whole story, to your point. And so only until I was an adult was I able to say what had happened and be okay with it and not be ashamed and embarrassed.

And so I want to go back to you, the baby. You know, the Mental Wealth Alliance and Charlemagne and Dr. Alfie aim to shed light on all these critical issues. Are there anything else you want to, is there anything else, whether you want to tell us about some of the initiatives and programs that you're going to be doing with the baby care or the baby cares to break stigma and provide support to those in need? Yes, ma'am. So we just launched the baby Cares. About two days ago, I went to speak at West Charlotte High School, a high school in Charlotte, North Carolina. And we're partnering with Mental Health America. We actually brought a chapter of it to the Carolinas,

so that's something I'm extremely proud of and just having an opportunity to do. But with that, we launched the Glenn Johnson for Mental Health Initiative, and with that, we'll just be providing resources and tools necessary. And we're creating programs, you know, right now as we speak. And like I said, this is a journey that I'm just now embarking on. And I'm just super excited to be learning as I go. And as I learn, teach, you know what I mean? And just pass the information right along. Yes, I love that. And I run a mental health organization, Silence of Shame, so we're definitely going to be in touch and hopefully partner with you all. I want to go back to you, Elliot. You know, I've seen the suicide rate, or we've seen, rather,

suicide rates, especially for black men, from 2018 to 2021, increased, y'all, by 30%. That's alarming, and that's a problem. What would you say, particularly just to the black community, especially our black men in the audience today? What do we need to do truly to be able to open up? I know suicidal ideation, sometimes it could be hereditary, depression could run in your family, but sometimes it's situational.

So give me a good message for our black men today. So the first part of your question is what can we do? Go to therapy. Period. The second part of your question, like what's a message we can give to them? Seriously, do not forget what I'm about to say. You are only as sick as your secrets. So y'all write that down. You're only as sick as your secrets. So whatever it is that is tormenting you, you got to share that. You got to let that out. And when you let it out, two incredible things happen.

And for real, y'all don't forget this. The first thing that happens is you release it. You're no longer bound by it. The second thing that happens, and Charlamagne just spoke to it, when you speak to it, someone's going to say, me too. And you no longer feel like you're alone in that journey. And I've been a practicing psychotherapist for almost 20 years. I've never seen a single client that was struggling with suicidal ideation or depression that did not feel alone. So once we release that stuff and we share it, we no longer feel alone.

Our resilience goes up when we get partnered. Our resilience goes up when someone's walking the journey with us. So go to therapy and never forget you are only as sick as your secrets. So anything you stop keeping secret. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia Keys opens up about conquering doubt, learning to trust herself and leaning into her dreams. I think a lot of times we are built to doubt the possibilities for ourselves. For self-preservation and protection, it was literally that step by step. And so I discovered that that is how we get where we're going. This increment of small, determined moments.

Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself. It's okay. Like grace, have grace with yourself. You're trying your best and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So y'all, this is Questlove and I'm here to tell you about a new podcast I've been working on with the Story Pirates

and John Glickman called Historical Records. It's a family-friendly podcast. Yeah, you heard that right. A podcast for all ages. One you can listen to and enjoy with your kids starting on September 27th. I'm going to toss it over to the host of Historical Records,

Nimany, to tell you all about it. Make sure you check it out. Hey, y'all. Nimany here. I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Historical Records brings history to life through hip hop. Each episode is about a different inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it. And it began with me. Did you know, did you know?

I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a moment. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone. This is Courtney Thorne-Smith, Laura Layton, and Daphne Zuniga. On July 8, 1992, apartment buildings with pools were never quite the same as Melrose Place was introduced to the world.

It took drama and mayhem to an entirely new level. We are going to be reliving every hookup, every scandal, every backstab, blackmail and explosion, and every single wig removal together. Secrets are revealed as we rewatch every moment with you. Special guests from back in the day will be dropping by. You know who they are. Sydney, Allison, and Joe are back together on Still the Place with a trip down memory lane and back to Melrose Place. So listen to Still the Place on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Daphne Caruana Galizia was a Maltese investigative journalist who, on October 16, 2017, was murdered. There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate. My name is Manuel Delia. I am one of the hosts of Crooks Everywhere, a podcast that unhurts the plot to murder a one-woman Wikileaks. Daphne exposed the culture of crime and corruption that were turning her beloved country into a mafia state. And she paid the ultimate price.

Listen to Crooks everywhere on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, my little creeps. It's your favorite ghost host, Teresa. And guess what? Haunting is back, dropping just in time for spooky season. Now I know you've probably been wandering the mortal plane,

wondering when I'd be back to fill your ears with deliciously unsettling stories. Well, wonder no more. Because we've got a ghoulishly good lineup ready for you. Let's just say things get a bit extra. We're talking spirits, demons, and the kind of supernatural chaos that'll make your spooky season complete. You know how much I love this time of year.

It's the one time I'm actually on trend. So grab your pumpkin spice, dust off that Ouija board, just don't call me unless it's urgent, and tune in for new episodes every week. Remember, the veils are thin, the stories are spooky, and your favorite ghost host is back and badder than ever. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

We'll no longer keep you sick. Woo! Thank you, Elliot. And I tell people, you know, we got our superstar rapper on the panel today. You got to rap through your problems. What does that mean? The R is recognizing those unfamiliar thoughts and feelings. The A in rap is acknowledging it and then accepting it.

Because a lot of times we do stuff, but we act like it didn't happen. So you recognize it, you acknowledge it, and you accept it. And then what's the P? You process through those challenges and problems with a professional like Elliot. So recognize, acknowledge, accept, and process. All right. Well, we got about six minutes left. So I do want to ask the baby, what message would you like to convey to those struggling in silence? And even some of your brethren in the entertainment industry. I would go back to a couple of things he just spoke on, just going to therapy. And with the acronym that you just broke down, like the order that you put it in, recognizing and accepting,

and then the third one being processing, like that's where I'm at. It started with me. It took me so long to just recognize it and accept it. You know what I mean? I probably recognized it early on, but accepting it, that's something, that's the stage I just got to, you know what I mean, in processing it. And, you know, now I'm in the room with professionals, with several professionals. I've learned a lot of information just being on this stage with these great people

for the ten minutes we've been up here, you know what I mean? So things that I would encourage other artists to do is to just speak up, seek help, have the conversations with people that make you uncomfortable. You know what I mean? And just like you say, you're only as sick as your secrets. A lot of the things that I go through

have just been conditioned just as a black man period. And I'm sure plenty of people out here, as black men and women, let's not just act like, you know what I mean? black men are up against the eyes or, you know what I mean, go through things, but we're conditioned to just sweep things under the rug, you know what I mean, and just navigate through them however we can. And it's almost like, you know, we live every day, day in and day out,

like in survival mode, you know, and that's something that's not healthy, but, you know, we're strong enough to survive. So with the strength that we'll have if we're having these conversations and speaking with professionals and sitting down and going to therapy you know I would encourage other artists to do that and you know just take the first step you know what I mean the first step in the right direction and I'm I'm on like my third or fourth step and it already you know it just feels amazing feels amazing wow and I just I just want to give you your flowers because the entertainment industry can be tough. Social media can be tough. Everybody got opinions and, and I just met you. I don't know you. All I know is the accolades you've received and, you know,

different things you've done in your past, but, you know, loving yourself, being able to process through your brother's suicide. Nobody knows what that journey has been like for you. And so for you to be doing what you're doing now, not only are you helping yourself and your family, you're helping so many other people out here. We talked about it earlier on the panel. A lot of times people going through stuff, they project it on others. Yes, ma'am.

So I just want you, young man, I'm going to just say to you, keep doing what you're doing. Focus on you and your family and all that DaBaby Cares is going to do for our community. That's all that matters. Absolutely. So let's give him his flowers, y'all, for what he's doing with this important initiative

to save lives. Can I expand on something? Please, please. Shanti, I want to ask Elliot, because Elliot said you're only as your secrets, which I agree with, but what about when you know you have to live certain traumas out loud? Like, you know, when things happen where a family member commits a suicide and that is a traumatic experience, but then you still have obligations, right?

And they say staying busy is a response to trauma. What advice would you give to people who have to deal with their traumas out loud in the public? To be fully, fully transparent. He was using words like acceptance, but I want to, I want to add a word to that. And you have to practice radical acceptance. What I mean by that is like, when you go through something, you got to deal with it publicly. That's just where you are at that moment. You have to literally just accept like, this is where I am in that moment, and process through it however you need to process through it. When you bury it and keep it a secret,

because I have a public job, or because people see me, or because I'm in public, you're just going to make yourself sicker. Yeah. Like, you really have to just accept. And here's the thing, like, we are conditioned, like, as a black culture, we're conditioned to think if you knew my pain, you would perceive me as weak. So thus I have to hide that pain so you perceive me as strong. But I'm telling y'all, the strongest thing you could ever do is be you, period. So if on that day me is processing a trauma,

then damn it, you gonna have to just see me processing a trauma. That's just how it works. So it's unfortunate sometimes that we have to process these things in public. And it's unfortunate that social media does what it does. But I don't give a damn. This is me. And on this day, this is how I have to show up. And when you can show up as you every single day, that is true strength. Yes. Thank you for adding that question. That was a great question. You can turn on IG on any getting moaned and see me in an ugly cry. I don't care. You're going to get who I am in that moment. Thank you, Elliot, for that. Charlamagne, what message of hope would you like

to leave everyone who's struggling in silence? Man, the message of hope is that you're not alone and you don't realize that until you start sharing your story, like I said earlier, until you start realizing that you know you're only a secret to your secrets like Elliot Connie said. That's why it's so important for us to have spaces like this, man. This is community. Absolutely. Right? And I thought it was unique, the stuff that I was dealing with.

That's why I would keep it to myself. But then when I started sharing it and realizing like, no, there's other people out there dealing with anxiety. There's other people out there dealing with anxiety. There's other people out there dealing with depression. There's other people out there dealing with PTSD. There's out there, people out there dealing with things that, you know, I couldn't even comprehend. Like when you just start sharing that story, man, you just form this, this village. And we got to get back to that. We got to get back to being a village. We got to get back to, you know, lifting each other up. You know, I love that. I love that meme of that basketball player

when he had his head down and the brother just came and helped him lift it up. Little simple things like that. The hope is that you're not alone. So just share your story and you'll realize you're not alone. Yes. Thank you.

I want to give our final words to the baby. Anything else you'd like to share? All the things that... I'm sorry, I don't mean to cut you off. I'm just, I'm excited. You know what I'm saying right now? I'm just excited because all the information that these three great people on the stage are sharing, this is my life in real time. You know what I mean? Like this is really my life in real time. About a week ago, I felt completely alone in my struggles and what I've been through. When I go sit down with him at

Breakfast Club last week, when I come sit down right here, I met about a dozen people backstage before coming out here, as well as the, what, this is about 2,000 people in here, closely 2,000 people in here, like, you know, to see everybody in here have similar interests and, you know, be seeking this information and have this information impact everybody out here and, you know, get you guys to just nod your head and agree. I'm up here beside these guys like, I feel like he's talking to me. Everything he say, I feel like he's talking to me.

Everything they've said up here, I feel like they're talking directly to me. So I'm just super excited to just embark on this journey and start therapy myself. And I have, you know, as many conversations as I can. Like, I'm actually upset that I didn't bring my nieces, my brother's kids with me, my mom with me. So, you know, like, I'm just excited to just, you know, to leave here today and just to go tell everybody, you know, all the great information that I gained here today

and to just bring my family along with me and others that I need along with me on this journey of healing. I love that. Yes. Give it up. So we're out of time now, but we got three strong black men. And I just want to say to each one of you, black men, I'm always coining acronyms. Man, manifesting a need. Manifesting a need to be vulnerable, to be transparent, to be okay with who you are. Being, taking care of yourself and knowing that self-care is not selfish, right? And pouring back into your community. Y'all give it up for these black men who are helping to erase stigma and shame

around suicide in the Black community. Thank y'all so much, and let's give it up for them. Thank you. As a kid, I really do remember having these dreams and visions, but you just don't know what is going to come for you. Alicia shares her wisdom on growth, gratitude, and the power of love. I forgive myself.

It's okay. Have grace for yourself. You're trying your best, and you're going to figure out the rhythm of this thing. Alicia Keys, like you've never heard her before. Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, y'all. Niminy here.

I'm the host of a brand new history podcast for kids and families called Historical Records. Executive produced by Questlove, The Story Pirates, and John Glickman, Historical Records brings history to life through hip-hop. Each episode is about a different, inspiring figure from history. Like this one about Claudette Colvin, a 15-year-old girl in Alabama who refused to give up her seat on the city bus nine whole months before Rosa Parks did the same thing. Check it.

And it began with me. Did you know, did you know? I wouldn't give up my seat. Nine months before Rosa, it was called a four-month. Get the kids in your life excited about history by tuning in to Historical Records. Because in order to make history, you have to make some noise. Listen to Historical Records on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hello, my undeadly darlings. It's Teresa, your resident ghost host. And do I have a treat for you. Haunting is crawling out from the shadows and it's going to be devilishly good. We've got chills, thrills, and stories that'll make you wish the lights stayed on. So join me, won't you?

Let's dive into the eerie unknown together. Sleep tight, if you can. Listen to Haunting on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, 1974.

George Foreman was champion of the world. Ali was smart and he was handsome. The story behind The Rumble in the Jungle is like a Hollywood movie. But that is only

half the story. There's also James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. All the biggest black artists on the story. There's also James Brown, Bill Withers, B.B. King, Miriam Akiba. All the biggest slack artists on the planet. Together in Africa.

It was a big deal. Listen to Rumble, Ali, Foreman, and the Soul of 74 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, guys. I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.