Minority Mental Health: Healing, Wellness & Self-Care

July is National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month, a time to shed light on the unique mental health challenges faced by Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), while also celebrating the strength, resilience, and healing within our communities. 

At Hervival, we’re leaning into this moment with deep compassion, joy, and intention to prioritize minority mental health and wellness through practices rooted in ancestral wisdom, emotional nourishment, and collective care.

Why Minority Mental Health and Wellness Matters

Systemic inequalities, generational trauma, cultural stigma, and lack of access to care all contribute to significant mental health disparities in marginalized communities. But our stories aren’t only about struggle; they’re also filled with brilliance, creativity, resistance, and renewal.

Minority mental health and wellness is about more than diagnosis or therapy; it’s about reclaiming joy, setting boundaries, finding community, and rewriting narratives about what healing can look like.

Healing is not linear. It’s layered, and it’s yours to define.

The Invisible Weight: What Often Goes Unspoken

The pressure to be strong, the silence around emotional pain, the expectation to push through, these are burdens too many carry quietly. Mental health doesn’t always look like breakdowns or burnout. Sometimes it’s numbness. Over-functioning. Or constant anxiety that feels “normal.”

Ask yourself:

• When was the last time I felt truly rested, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually?

• Do I feel safe expressing when I’m not okay?

This month, we make space to feel without judgment. To name the pain. And to choose softness, even when the world demands toughness.

5 Affirming Ways to Prioritize Minority Mental Health and Wellness

1. Normalize Mental Health Conversations in Your Circles

Talk about therapy. Name your emotional needs. Share mental health resources with loved ones. Whether it’s within your family or friend group, your openness gives others permission to be real, too.
Explore boundary-setting as a sacred form of emotional protection from our blog titled; Saying No with Love: Reclaiming Your Energy

2. Reclaim Joy as Resistance

Joy is not frivolous. It’s a tool of survival and a sign of thriving. Dance, laugh, sing, create, whatever lights you up is medicine.

“Black joy is not a distraction, it’s a declaration.”

Infuse joy daily:

• A gratitude ritual in the morning

• A playlist of feel-good music

• Ten minutes of stillness just for you

Learn how to make gratitude your superpower by exploring our blog: Why Gratitude Is a Superpower: 5 Ways to Practice It Daily

3. Embrace Culturally Rooted Wellness Practices

From ancestral healing to herbal remedies, your culture carries wisdom. Light incense, use aromatherapy, pray, or meditate, whatever aligns with your spirit.

Start here:
Aromatherapy for Stress Relief: Learn how essential oils can boost your mood and reduce anxiety naturally here.

4. Set Boundaries that Protect Your Peace

Not every conversation deserves your energy. Not every commitment is yours to carry. Saying no isn’t selfish, it’s sacred.

Practice this:

• “No” is a full sentence.

• Limit emotional labor.

• Create digital boundaries.

5. Find or Build a Healing Community

Isolation deepens pain, but connection breeds courage. Whether it’s a group chat, a therapist, or a wellness collective like Hervival, lean into spaces that affirm and support you.

You don’t have to heal alone.

Join our membership designed to help you stay consistent in your self-care, spiritual wellness, and soul alignment in holistic wellness and growth.

Quick Reflection Ritual: Check In with Your Inner Self

Here’s a grounding check-in you can do today:

• What emotion am I holding right now?

• What do I need more of? Less of?

• Where can I offer myself grace today?

You Are the Healer You’ve Been Waiting For

Minority mental health and wellness isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up for yourself, gently and honestly. It’s about choosing joy, creating boundaries, leaning into ancestral power, and daring to believe that you deserve rest, healing, and peace.

This July, and every month, may you honor your story and protect your energy like the treasure it is.