Watch CBS News

After Suffering From Depression, Mrs. Michigan Continental Worldwide Uses Platform To Raise Mental Health Awareness

(CBS DETROIT) -- She's smart, beautiful, ambitious, and what some may not know is Mrs. Michigan Continental Worldwide and former Mrs. Detroit Latrice Delgado-Macon once suffered from depression.

"My mental health was me just being silent or me not eating so I went through a whole process of me not eating I went through a process of me just checked out when I was driving on the road and I would just fall asleep so I wasn't aware of my surrounding so I wasn't aware of me," Delgado-Macon said.

Delgado-Mason says childhood trauma and the loss of her brother in 2008 sent her on a downward spiral, and at first, she didn't even realize she was depressed.

"I just thought that it was a funk that I was in that I was trying to get out of but it was really affecting me to the point where I had to sit down with someone and talk to, like a stranger," Delgado-Macon said.

She says that person asked if she was seeking help from a mental health professional. She answered no and said she worried about what others would think -- a stigma that's common, especially in the black community.

Delgado-Macon says when she did finally seek help the first thing she said to the therapist was: "Hey don't judge me."

"I already went in there like that. I went in there with this crazy attitude like she going to say this about me, I going to need help," she said.

She says getting that help was the best thing, and she's glad she did before it was too late. She now uses her platform to spread mental health awareness, especially to young girls in Metro Detroit. She's hoping that in July when she completes for the national Mrs. Continental Worldwide title, this will give her an even bigger platform.

"Just share my story and help them to be free, that it's OK for them to talk to someone," Delgado-Macon said.

If you or someone you know is suffering from depression or just not feeling ok, there are several resources available, click the link below for resources in Michigan.
https://www.michigan.gov/fyit/health/mental-hlth
If you or someone you know is suicidal, please call the 24-hour suicide prevention hotline at 800-273-8255.

© 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. 

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.