Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Frederick Brockington. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Frederick thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

I recently wrote a book titled Black Boy Anxiety the Wounded Healer. It is a memoir self-help book. In the book, I describe my burn trauma and verbal abuse I experienced in my childhood. I developed a lot of anxiety from both of these experiences, I always feared that people would see my burns and call me names which happened a lot. I also would get verbally abused when I was simply playing in the yard with my friends by a family member which caused more anxiety, but these experiences made me the creative person I am today. My journey to healing started with music. The way that I coped with these traumatic experiences was with music. I would listen to all kinds of music! Music helped me escape my situation. I would sing along with some of my favorite artists and then I realized I was a great singer! I started singing at church, school, weddings, and talent shows. The more I sang the better singer I became. As I got older I started writing and recording my own music. It was so therapeutic. I noticed that I was being asked by friends and co-workers to listen to their problems and I would give my perspective. This started my mental health journey.
Mentally, I was still anxious but not really focused on it. I attended school as another way to cope. I received a bachelors in business, This was not my passion , so I continued my education. I wanted to help people become the best version of themselves. I received a masters and PHD in mental health.
Fitness was another outlet that allowed me to cope with my anxiety. I would workout a lot, and finally became a Zumba instructor. I was in the role of helping people through fitness. I was a good fit for me.
I now use all these avenues to explore my creative side.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Due to all the experiences that I listed previously like the burn trauma and verbal abuse, I help my therapy clients by sharing my journey with them. I let them know that your trauma does not define who you are. You can survive anything by becoming self-aware. When you learn to love who you are, and what made you be the way you are, you can move forward in your life. For my fitness clients, they enjoy a dance environment where they can just be free, and let go of all the drama currently going on in their lives for an hour.

The readers of my book Black Boy Anxiety the Wounded Healer, it allows people to see that a male can experience trauma , and verbal abuse and develop a mental health issue and if left untreated it will only get worse. But there is hope in mental health therapy.

I also have a talk show on Facebook and YouTube called the Dr. Dare Show. We talk about mental health issues and hot topics that are going on in the world. It is a safe space to express your emotions.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

As an African American, I wished that I learned about mental health therapy earlier in my life. It would have saved me a lot of anxiety. I wish that I was more of a communicator about my feelings when I was growing up. I think if I shared what I was experiencing as a child I could have received the help that I needed. This is why I wrote the book Black Boy Anxiety the Wounded Healer to help males realize that mental health therapy can help you express yourself and your emotions better.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being a creative and artist for me is that I get to express my emotions through songwriting, writing books, singing ,and fitness. These activities allow me to release negative emotions and thoughts into the atmosphere. I no longer carry emotional baggage with me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.drdarefb.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedrdareshow/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fbrockington
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZn3SYkpzpoVVgj69O_-gw

Image Credits
Photo by Nathan Pearcy