TNT PANEL SPEAKER: LIFTING THE VEIL ON BLACK WOMEN AND MENTAL HEALTH

Fatima "TNT" Lister joined Dr. Patrice Harris, Everyday Health's Chief Health and Medical Editor and Chairman of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.'s International Health & Wellness Committee, for an inspiring panel discussion titled "Lifting the Veil on Black Women and Mental Health."

Fatima is pictured here with Dr. Harris and the other panelists (from left to right): Maia Niguel Hoskin, PhD, Professor of Counseling at Loyola Marymount University; Dr. Harris; Fatima; and Lauren Carson, Founder and Executive Director of Black Girls Smile.

The panel took place during the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.'s national leadership seminar this past weekend in Chicago, and was dedicated to exploring the many challenges that Black women face in relation to mental health, including lack of services and available treatments. Fatima spoke about the challenges and pressures young athletes face to be "mentally tough" and the importance of giving them safe spaces to talk about how they're really doing mentally.

She also spoke of her own challenges balancing motherhood with her career and emphasized the importance of prioritizing your own mental health so that you can be your best when showing up for others.

A rousing success, audience members left with a better understanding of their own mental health, discussed how to normalize conversations around mental health, and were offered resources to support themselves and those around them.