Simone Biles & When The Weight of The World Becomes Heavy

Mental health matters. We hear the phrase often now, especially after over a year of social isolation, COVID deaths, and (for many) being forced to focus on racial injustice because they could not escape it as they were stuck inside and racial trauma porn took over social media.

We say mental health matters.

But for Black women, it often comes with an asterisk

Our mental health matters as long as

We continue to make everyone else comfortable

We manage to save our communities, even if it is to the detriment of ourselves

We don’t let it get in the way of others getting their needs met

We show up — -fully, even if broken — -and do the work

This week, #SimoneBiles chose to step away from the individual all-around gymnastics competition in the Tokyo OIympics. She said it was because she felt the “weight of the world on her shoulders”. And for Simone, she decided that carrying such a weight was not something she wanted or truly could do if she were to prioritize herself.

Let’s be clear, the weight of the world is not one for Black women to bear. Yet, we often do, when the World decides that, in that moment, we hold some value to it.

When the World determines that, we are needed to “fix” something, or to “prove” something it does not really believe in (like diversity, equity, etc). When we are needed to do the backbreaking emotional or physical work.

Yet, even in carrying this weight, we are not valued for doing so. Instead, the hope is, as we carry the weight, it will make the load lighter for those that the World really values.

If we carry the weight and stumble, we are blamed for not being strong enough to do so, instead of the question being why were we being required to carry so much in the first place?

Do not let us “adjust” and manage to carry the weight with what appears to be ease (note: it is NEVER easy). Because, when we do, more weight is added, or we are denigrated for being able to do so.

Simone is doing what we all should do, to whatever degree we can.

The weight is not ours to bear.

Our mental health mattering deserves to be so without disclaimers/asterisks, or anything else that gets in the way of prioritizing it.

The world will not make sure that we are okay. But, the world does not love us anyway.

If we do not only truly carry the weight that we want,

that serves a purpose for US,

that gets US where we want to be, trust — -no one will insist that be the case.

Put other people’s burden (weight) down, sis.

Dr. Dent is a licensed psychologist. Her hardest job is being a Black Woman who centers the experiences of Black women and girls. She continues to try to release the emotional weight that does not serve her. Make sure to “Like” her page and listen to her on the Centering Sisters Videocast on Facebook Live (@CenteringSisters) and on Youtube