Introducing Dr. Diamond Blount: Overcoming Trauma and Rebuilding Self-Worth
In the latest issue of our magazine, we are honored to introduce Dr. Diamond Blount, a courageous individual who has faced tremendous challenges and emerged stronger.
Dr. Blount's journey is a Pastor And Entrepreneur who is resilience, carries healing, and self-discovery, offering hope and inspiration to others on similar paths.
Dr. Blount's story is one of overcoming deep-rooted trauma and rebuilding a sense of self-worth. Despite childhood experiences of loneliness, disappointment, and rejection to the loss of innocence and trust at a young age SHE CONQUERED
Dr. Diamond welcome to the Becoming Article!
We are so excited to have you join us on today! Lets get started....
CAN YOU RECALL A MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE THAT WAS DEEPLY HEARTBREAKING, A MOMENT THAT SHATTERED THE VERY CORE OF WHO YOU WERE, ERASING THE PERSON YOU ONCE KNEW YOURSELF TO BE?
Whew, there have been so many things that have transpired in my life that have caused me to erase different versions of myself. But I have a life-changing moment I will share with you all. It goes deep from within my childhood, always feeling alone, disappointed, misunderstood, and rejected. I would always seek attention and validation from other people. I wanted to be seen and heard because of the pain I was feeling. No one knew how broken I really was, facing the reality of not having my parents present in my life at certain times. I wanted to have a relationship with my mom and dad like a normal kid, but that wasn’t my story. I desired to talk with them about certain things, but I couldn’t always do that, so it caused me to become vulnerable. I would cling to people who made me feel seen and heard. This leads me to my heartbreaking moment that really changed me to the core. At the age of 13, my vulnerability was placed in the hands of the wrong person, and my innocence was taken from me.
WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT THIS MOMENT HAD GROWN WITH YOU, EXERTING A SILENT YET POWERFUL CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE, HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE WITHIN ITS GRIP?
I realized that this moment had grown with me when I could no longer trust people or feel any emotion towards anything, not even death. I was completely numb. I became increasingly afraid of the dark and started having dissociative seizures. I began to act out in various ways, suppress my feelings, and dissociate from a lot of traumatic situations that would happen to me.
I began to act out in various ways , suppress my feelings and disassociate from a lot of traumatic situations that would happen to me.
HOW DID THIS TRAUMA BUILD IN YOUR LIFE, AFFECTING YOUR DECISION-MAKING, APPETITE, RELATIONSHIPS, PERSPECTIVE, AND CONFIDENCE? WHAT DID IT HINDER, AND HOW DID YOU COPE WITH ITS OVERWHELMING PRESENCE? REMEMBER, YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS.
This trauma built in my life by experiencing more moments of disappointments and agony. I became physically and mentally sick, and the situation began to affect the way I viewed people as well as myself. There were moments when I hated to look at myself. I felt filthy and unworthy of anything. I would tell myself it was my fault, and I felt as if my life was over. I would think, "Who would want to talk to or be with a girl with a situation like mine?" There also came a point where I began to act out of anger, smoking, and hanging out with bad influences. Luckily for me, I grew out of that phase, but as I grew older, I still had residue of those traumas, and they began to show up in my adult life.
It affected the way I loved myself. It hindered me from knowing my true identity and worth. I had a fear of commitment because it takes trust to be committed. I desired to have a relationship, but I wasn’t willing to trust anyone just to be disappointed, so I had a no-strings-attached mentality. In my mind, no strings attached equaled no emotions and no disappointments. I also tried everything in my power to have control over my life so that I wouldn’t experience another moment of feeling hopeless. I coped in many ways by partying, drinking, and keeping myself busy all of the time!
WHAT WAS THE TURNING POINT FOR YOU, THE MOMENT WHEN YOU DECIDED TO LIVE AGAIN? WHEN DID YOU MUSTER THE COURAGE TO SAY, "ENOUGH IS ENOUGH," AND TAKE THE FIRST STEP TOWARD MOVING FORWARD? YOU ARE INCREDIBLY BRAVE.
I believe the turning point for me was when my papa passed away in 2018. Besides the other outlets I had, my papa was a safe place for me. No matter what I went through or did, he always spoke life into me. He would share stories of how God changed and saved him. He had high hopes for me when I had none. He inspired me to build a relationship with God and trust Him in the midst of my storms. I wanted to make my papa proud, but I knew that required me to change my ways. There came a point in my life where I got tired of being angry. I got tired of feeling depressed, empty, and void. I realized that nothing I was doing was sustaining or changing what I was going through. Then I remembered how my papa would just go through the house and sing these songs. I adopted that same habit and began to worship God. I found strength in worship!
I found strength in worship!
WERE YOU HESITANT TO LET GO OF THE PAIN BECAUSE IT HAD BECOME FAMILIAR, ALMOST COMFORTING IN ITS FAMILIARITY? WERE YOU AFRAID OF THE FREEDOM THAT LETTING GO MIGHT BRING, AFRAID TO STEP INTO THE UNKNOWN AND BECOME SOMEONE NEW THAT YOUR COURAGE IS COMMENDABLE.
Yes, indeed. I did a very good job at masking my pain. The older I got, the more ways I found to hide behind it, like overachieving, keeping myself busy, and pretending to be okay. I was always labeled strong or resilient, so it would have been hard for people to even notice the fight. I was afraid of facing the truth of my reality. I had built myself a life that was comfortable, but it was built off of survival. I realize now that I honestly didn’t know what it looked or felt like to be free or healed. In fact, I thought I was already healed and over those moments because I was living my best life. The pain of my past had become a part of my identity. So to let it go meant that I would have to deal with everything I was suppressing and hiding. That was hard for me.
HOW CHALLENGING WAS IT TO RELEASE THE HURT THAT HAD BEEN A PART OF YOU FOR SO LONG? WHAT HELPED YOU RECOGNIZE THAT IT WAS TIME TO BEGIN THE HEALING PROCESS? YOU ARE UNDENIABLY A STRONG WOMAN.
It was really challenging to release the hurt because I had suppressed and dissociated so much, I didn’t really know how much I had to release. I believe it was during the pandemic when I realized I needed to truly heal. It’s so funny how I realized that I was still dealing with the trauma of my past. So I was talking to this guy, and I wasn’t paying him any attention until he started to ignore me. It drove me crazy; I started blowing his phone up, texting him, and leaving him messages. Then something hit me. I was sitting in my car, and I asked myself why all of a sudden I cared to hear from him or not, and I realized that I wasn’t obsessively calling him because I liked him. I was obsessively calling him because I didn’t like to feel rejected. When I tell you that moment tore me up because, at this time, I’m thinking I’m healed. I had given my life to God and had given up my worldly addictions. But I realized I needed some deeper inner healing. Healing not only from my carnal choices but from the things that broken little girl had gone through. It’s almost as if I had forgotten her. Healing truly is a process; it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s as if you’re peeling layers of an onion. I always say in order to heal you have to feel.
WHERE DID FORGIVENESS BEGIN FOR YOU? DID IT START WITHIN YOURSELF, OR DID IT BEGIN WITH FORGIVING OTHERS WHO MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO YOUR PAIN? REMEMBER, FORGIVENESS IS A PROCESS, AND IT'S OKAY IF IT UNFOLDS GRADUALLY. YOUR JOURNEY IS PRICELESS.
Forgiveness for me started with forgiving my parents and then forgiving myself. I had so much anger and resentment against my parents as a child. I felt that a lot of things wouldn’t have happened or would have been different if they had been there for me more. At a young age, I realized that my parents were very young. They were still figuring out life themselves, and though they could have probably made better choices, they were only doing the best they knew how to do. When I was going through my sickness, my mom shared her story with me, and it helped me a lot to know that she understood. My father started to be more present. Though he had his struggles, I could see his efforts. I actually had to thank them because what I thought was rejection was God's way and their way of protecting me.
WHEN DID YOU START FEELING THE CYCLE OF PAIN AND TRAUMA BREAKING WITHIN YOU? WHEN DID YOU REALIZE THAT YOU WERE NO LONGER DEFINED BY YOUR PAST, THAT YOU HAD NOT ONLY SURVIVED BUT THRIVED DESPITE IT ALL?
I started feeling the cycles of pain and trauma breaking within me as I drew closer to God. When I started to read my word, I realized that God has a way of using flawed people for His glory. Through the love and word of God, I was able to change my perspective on the things that I had experienced. I went from being a victim of my past to a victor, and my pain turned from pain into purpose. I knew in my soul that God was turning things around for my good. I realized my past no longer defined who I was when I no longer responded with anger and pity but with praise!
IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO SOMEONE WHO EXPERIENCED WHAT YOU’VE OVERCOME TODAY, ARMED WITH THE WISDOM AND STRENGTH YOU HAVE GAINED, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY? HOW WOULD YOU ENCOURAGE YOURSELF TO KEEP PUSHING FORWARD, KNOWING WHAT YOU KNOW NOW? YOU ARE A TRUE CHAMPION.
I would say hold on and choose joy! These were the words God spoke to me in one of the darkest moments of my life. We may not always understand why we had to endure so much, but understand that it will all work out for the good. Patience is necessary, and joy is something that you can maintain even in the midst of calamities. I want others to understand that it’s okay to not be okay, but it’s never okay to pretend to be. Eventually, the mask has to come off. Healing can be challenging, but trust God through the process. Don’t try to handle your pain in your own strength because it only leads to more hurt and disappointments. Understand that through your healing, there will be moments when you will have to revisit some painful moments in your life and heal from the core of your pain, but with the strength of God, nothing is impossible! There were moments when I had to speak to that broken little girl and let her know that everything will be okay. I had to let her know that she is seen, she’s heard, understood, and loved. With what I know now, I always encourage myself by speaking the word over myself and any situation I may be facing, believing in what God says beyond what I see!
Dr. Diamond, we want to take a moment to express our sincere gratitude for coming to share your story with us. Your openness and courage in sharing your journey have touched us deeply, and we are truly honored to have had the opportunity to hear from you.
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