Taraji P. Henson isn’t afraid to speak up about mental health.
Color Purple The actress recently spoke to People magazine about her new children’s book. You can be a good friend (no matter what!) And what mental health means to her.
“The inspiration for this book is that I work in the mental health field,” Henson told People magazine. “I’m a mental health advocate, so it’s always been my mission to meet people where they are and help them in any way I can and make this journey called life a little easier for all of us.”
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Henson, 53, has been an outspoken advocate for mental health for many years.
In 2018, she co-founded the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation in memory of her father, who served in the Vietnam War. Lawrence Henson died in 2005.
“I often think back to how openly he expressed his feelings. He didn’t hide anything,” Henson says. “He had the courage to live and walk in his truth, no matter how beautiful it might seem or how ugly it might seem, because it was all about, ‘I’m going to tell you the truth so you don’t have to go through what I went through.'”
Her interest in mental health extends to her acting career, as she told People magazine: “Any character I play, I’m always thinking about the character’s mental health.”
“It doesn’t matter who you’re dealing with, they have a cross to bear and it’s impacting their mental health,” Henson says. “Being a mental health advocate has changed the way I view myself and the way I approach my work.”
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Her approach to prioritizing mental health also extends to parenting, she told Verywell Mind: While raising her 30-year-old son, Marcel, she has stressed the importance of vulnerability and asking for help when you need emotional support.
“We’ve both been through trauma, and finding a therapist, a support system around us and resources available to us has been a huge help and should be more readily available to everyone,” Henson told the outlet.
Henson’s Books You can be a good friend (no matter what!) Available wherever books are sold.
