The Progressive Darkness
Carl Binger is a New York State Licensed Mental Health Counselor and founder of the Surviving Depression group. It is Carl’s mission to bring awareness to the perils of depression, having experienced depression himself. He hopes to break the stigma associated with mental illness, particularly in Black and Brown communities.
Photo Credit: Whitney Young. Digital Artwork by David A. Paul, MD. Copyright Bold & Gritty, LLC 2021. All rights reserved.
It is impossible to meet Carl Binger and not be drawn in by his humble demeanor and caring nature. As a NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Carl spreads a message of hope to everyone who struggles with depression. Carl has been in practice since 2014 and currently runs Luminance Mental Health Counseling in Rochester, NY. He is the author of “The Progressive Darkness: For the Christian Losing Hope in Depression,” which provides a raw and honest look at depression through the lens of his own personal experience and testimony. The book provides reassurance to those with depression, emphasizing that they are not alone. In his book, Carl masterfully approaches the importance of his faith as a tool to address depression, leading people toward a path of healing rather than shame.
Carl shines a light on depression through writing, leading small groups, facilitating educational workshops, and hosting the Surviving Depression podcast, live-stream and Facebook groups. As a husband and father of three boys, Carl is passionate about shining a light on issues of mental illness in Black and Brown communities. He can often be seen hanging out at New City Café in Rochester, NY drinking Bold & Gritty coffee and building community.
Carl shared his mental health journey with NAMI Rochester and Bold & Gritty. Published below is his interview with Whitney Young for the iROC Mental Health Series.
NAMI: Have you ever had any mental health struggles? Do you live with a diagnosis?
CB: Yes, I have definitely had mental health struggles. Back in 2006, my junior year in college, I started a deep decline into severe depression. I have a current diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder/Bipolar Depression. I wrote about my experience extensively in my new book, The Progressive Darkness: For the Christian Losing Hope in Depression, which was published this March. In it, I talk about the slow decline my mind and body experienced during that dark time. The depression started mildly, having acid reflux like symptoms and slow loss of interest in various hobbies, but later became more insidious, as I couldn’t sleep and started having suicidal thoughts.
NAMI: How have you healed and grown from your experiences? If you consider yourself in recovery from something, what does recovery mean to you?
CB: Being a Christian, the depression definitely deepened my faith in God. I was sure I lost my faith in the midst of it all, but it turns out God used depression to strengthen my faith, while at the same time creating a passion in me to help others who struggle alone. This has also spilled over into all areas of my life where I try to love everyone knowing that they could be going through really deep pain. During my period of depression, I tried many things to overcome it, including prayer, reading scripture, spending time with other believers, exercising, and eating better. What finally helped though was taking medications that I am still on today.
NAMI: How do you protect your mental health? What forms of self-care do you practice? What keeps you balanced?
CB: I love to have things to look forward to, whether it is date nights with my wife, travel with the family, doing a free workshop in the community, or just getting out to a park and getting some fresh air to reflect on God’s goodness and what I am thankful for. I also attempt to eat healthier and spend quality time with my three sons. I want to model to them what good self-care looks like.
NAMI: What mental health issues are most prevalent, according to your practice, among Black men in our community?
CB: What I have seen in my work with Black men is childhood trauma, racial trauma, and systemic poverty. The lack of education around mental illness can allow for the suffering of many Black men, women, and children to suffer in silence. On top of that, there is this culture of being strong and toughing it out which makes matters worse.
NAMI: What forms of mental health-related stigma have you observed or run into personally? How do you combat stigma?
CB: I have experienced stigma in multiple arenas. With regards to my faith, during the time I was depressed, I got the impression that maybe my faith wasn’t strong enough, and maybe I wasn’t praying or reading my bible enough. Worst yet, that I was possibly engaged in some type of sin. Most of these stigmas were internal but were definitely shaped by ideas and circumstances I have heard in faith communities. As a man, I felt some internal and external stigma as well. Having depression made me think that I wasn’t man enough, that I was crazy, or that I was weak. Whenever I would talk about my struggle with other men, I would get these impressions as well. Sometimes it was pretty clear, other times, very subtle. The way I combat stigma is by making it my mission to be vulnerable about my past struggle, while offering full support and education to any man or person of faith that finds themselves in a dark hole.
NAMI: You work at the intersection of clinical and faith-based treatment of depression. How do you combine the two frameworks? Why is faith an important part of your work as a counselor?
CB: I combine the two frameworks by first realizing that we totally need both. You cannot focus on mental health and completely leave out your spiritual health, and vice versa. To me faith is of immense importance when you think of life’s greatest struggles, pain, and grief, and then you think of the person of Jesus. In Jesus, we have someone who says, I have suffered worse than you ever can, and I love you and want to be your friend if you are willing. These words, thoughts, and truths are absolutely comforting to someone in their right frame of mind but can be transformative to someone on the edge of darkness.
NAMI: How could our community improve in terms of supporting Black men’s mental health?
CB: I have a Facebook group that I started in April called Surviving Depression. The whole purpose of the group is to educate, give hope, and break stigma as it relates to depression. I truly believe that if we came together as people of color, pulling our resources and talents together, and focusing these key elements on our children, teens, and adult men, we could change the entire trajectory of Black men’s mental health going forward. Imagine what would happen regarding crime, education, and physical and mental health if everyone had the ability to process their emotions in a healthy way.
Photo Credit: Whitney Young
More about REVOLUTION: the bold & Gritty x NAMI Rochester Collab.
Bold & Gritty has this crazy idea that by honoring Black people’s contributions to the history of coffee and using it as a vehicle to tell inspiring stories from our neighborhoods – that we can liberate a group of people and inspire them to be the change they want to see in the world. From creators to doctors, we are fueling a Bold and Gritty Revolution - curating stories that elevate the culture.
NAMI Rochester is dedicated to providing support, education, and advocacy to individuals and families of all cultural backgrounds who are affected by mental health. NAMI envisions a world where stigma is no longer a barrier to treatment, support is readily available, and mental illness is universally accepted as a treatable medical condition.
Together, Bold & Gritty and NAMI Rochester launched Revolution Coffee - a project to tell the mental health journies of Black men and to raise funds and awareness for mental health initiatives within Black and Brown communities in Rochester, NY.
