LaKisha Mosley, a Houston-based mental health influencer, knows the depths of despair all too well. A few years ago, a life-shattering divorce left her homeless, battling depression, and contemplating suicide. Feeling utterly lost, LaKisha clung to a single lifeline – a book gifted by her pastor. The words within its pages offered a glimmer of hope, a spark that ignited her will to fight for herself.
This experience became the catalyst for LaKisha’s transformation. She began pouring her experiences onto the page, journaling her journey towards self-love and healing. In 2018, what began as a personal outlet became a platform dedicated to empowering others struggling with similar challenges. LaKisha’s blog doesn’t shy away from the raw realities of mental health. She openly shares her story alongside interviews with experts and everyday people facing their battles.
LaKisha’s influence extends far beyond her blog. In 2020, she took a leap of faith, leaving her career in grocery retail management to become a full-time entrepreneur. Now, La’Kisha is helping countless individuals navigate the complexities of mental health, and she is letting the Defender in on her journey.
Defender: Can you share your journey with mental health and what inspired you to become an advocate in this field?
LaKisha Mosley : Back in 2022, I suffered from a mental breakdown. I didn’t know what it was, to be honest with you. I thought it was coming up to my 46th birthday. I’m probably just feeling this midlife thing that’s going on. I was very fatigued. But I started to question my existence, my purpose. Why was I here? I went to get a well-woman exam, and I just went through the motions of whatever she was asking. And I think that’s when the mask fell off. And I guess based on the way I was answering some of the mental health questions, she looked at me and said, “You are severely depressed, and I need you to see a therapist today.” My life changed going forward. As a businesswoman, there were no safe spaces for us to talk about mental health issues. There was shame and stigma. That’s how my journey started.
Defender: What specific challenges have you faced in your mental health journey, and how have you overcome them?
Mosley: I had to adjust to this reality of having to live with a mental illness. I was diagnosed with high-functioning depression, and for me, it can be one of the best things. For us, as high-functioning people, work is what fuels our self-worth. You rarely take time off. And a lot of times, you’re in a depressive mode. You don’t know it; you constantly wear a mask where work makes you feel good until you crash or become a burnout state.
The challenge has been navigating that as an entrepreneur, trying to find that circle of trusted friends and colleagues with whom I can share what a crisis looks like. I think getting people to be aware and to be more thoughtful to those of us who live with a mental illness has been one of the greatest challenges. I think it’s just the awareness of the journey, the mental health journey that a lot of us deal with, the awareness that we may not look like how we truly feel on the inside.
Defender: How do you use your platform to raise awareness about mental health issues, and what kind of impact have you seen from your efforts?
Mosley: I think I got serious after I was diagnosed. So, before my diagnosis in 2020, I started my annual conference called “My Mind Is My Business” because it’s specifically for entrepreneurs, business leaders and women. I’ll say that seems to be my kind of target or niche market. So, in June 2020, when we were all at home, I decided to start this series after George Floyd was murdered. It was called “Racism in Black America.”
I just had a series of different industries, and the last industry was mental health, clinicians and therapists. It was the most viewed podcast. And the outreach was amazing. People felt the conversation wasn’t long enough. We went for about two hours, but it wasn’t long enough. People had questions, and people began to resonate with that.
It wasn’t until 2022 that I decided to use my platform or my voice, using my event as this outreach platform for other entrepreneurs to feel safe. They were coming to the conference and getting the resources and the information, but then I would leave them hanging until the next year. And I just decided I didn’t want to do that anymore. I wanted to create this safe, communicative space for people to come and talk about what it is they’re feeling to tap into resources and clinicians and therapists that could help them that knew what they were probably dealing with, could find ways to help them out, be it they find a therapist in their area, or they find resources such as 988 or National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) or the Mental Health Institution.
What are some of the most common misconceptions about mental health that you encounter, and how do you address them?
Mosley: The first and foremost one is you don’t look like you’re depressed. You don’t look like you live with a mental illness. And a lot of times, I’m like, I may not look like it, but I do. I could be sitting before you now, and the voices are very heavy, and you may not hear them, but I do. I’m fighting them daily as they say I’m not enough. That may say that you are not good enough. And you know, earlier on in 2022, I had suicidal ideations, so I’m also a survivor of a suicide attempt. Especially in the Black community, our community, I feel like we’re so behind the curve ball because of religion and other things. We don’t feel like mental health is a thing.
I am very active in my church. Scripture is the basis of what I do. However, I also know that I need a therapist to be able to navigate this as well. The next misperception is you can’t do the job because you live with a mental illness. Who says that you can’t run your own business just because you have a mental illness? Who says you can’t be in the C-suite? Can’t you be a great mom? a great dad? or a sister? Brother? Who says you can’t do those things just because you live with a mental illness? I work a full-time job for a nonprofit. I have a business, and I’m a grandmother. I’m all these things, but I also live with a mental illness. It doesn’t define me; that’s just what I live with, but that’s not who I am.
Defender: Can you discuss any initiatives or programs you are involved in that aim to improve mental health awareness and support within the Houston community?
Mosley: I’m building a mental health collective called Mind Your Business. It’s a pioneering mental health collective where I’m providing a nurturing, safe space that focuses on the unique challenges that women, Black women specifically, face as entrepreneurs. I want to create this beautiful, really intimate, very feminine space for women where, individually, they can thrive and connect with other like-minded or like-diagnosed people.
Defender: What advice would you give to someone who is struggling with their mental health and might be hesitant to seek help?
Mosley : If they are hesitant to seek help if they have a trusted friend, I would like to confide in that friend sometimes. Getting it out and talking about it helps you see it’s not bad. Being diagnosed helped me be more empathetic and patient. Read up on what you’re feeling, read up on the things that you can do. You know, those sites give you great advice about your diet. How do you get outside and get some sun? Court those things until you feel comfortable going to seek help.
