Turning Pain Into Purpose: How Sean Burns Is Rewriting the Ending to His Story One man shares his journey facing addiction and intergenerational trauma, and the steps it takes to turn "pain into purpose."
By T. Aaron Cisco
Over the past few decades, there have been widespread efforts to destigmatize mental illness across multiple facets of contemporary society. From increasingly common portrayals among fictional film and television characters, to notable, pop-culture figures being candidly outspoken, to increased coverage in media outlets and academic institutions, addressing and acknowledging mental health is mainstream.
Within Black communities, however, there are numerous factors, both internal and external, that compound and exacerbate mental health issues, particularly around chemical dependency and substance abuse. Intergenerational trauma caused by centuries of systemic and institutional racism, the ongoing pressures of second-class citizenship and broad generalization/demonization, along with the stresses of economic and societal disenfranchisement, and a subcultural identity built primarily on survival, has resulted in African American adults being 20 percent more likely to report psychological distress than their white counterparts. Sean Burns (pictured above) is an educator at Prodeo Academy, a coach with Step with Soul step group, and the entrepreneurial founder of Beaucoup Boil, a pop-up Cajun/Soul restaurant. He's also just recently celebrated 100 days of sobriety and has firsthand experience with mental health issues. I met up with Sean to discuss his progress and triumphs, and explore his past processes and current methods,
in the hopes that by sharing his story, perhaps we can not only chip away at that stigma, but also provide some insights into rectifying the underlying issues as well. There are so many people going through or maybe just starting to go through what you've experienced. How do you explain to them that there's a way out, especially when, in our community, the Black community, there's a strong reluctance or aversion to even broaching the subject? For anyone who's not ready to [stop using drugs or alcohol], I always ask this question: Has it worked doing it your way? Is what you're doing what you want? I mean, if this is working, if you really think it's working, the damage and the pain you're causing or feeling or living with, if that's what you really want? But if it hasn't worked doing it your way, then it's time to go. Because when you don't know how to get to a point to feel better, you still know that what you're feeling now
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MARCH 2022
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