Viola Davis says shingles forced her to confront the ‘strong Black woman’ narrative
TheGrio...
Viola Davis opens up to theGrio about her experience with shingles as she joins the “Shingles, actually” campaign to spread awareness around prevention.
Viola Davis knows a thing or two about being a strong Black woman. For one, the iconic actress has brought to life some of culture’s strongest Black figures, including Annalise Keating, a cutthroat and prolific attorney, Veronica Rawlings, an intense leader of a high-stakes heist, and General Nanisca, the machete-wielding warrior in “The Woman King.”
Yet, when the “How to Get Away with Murder” alum experienced shingles not once, but twice, she discovered that being a strong Black woman doesn’t always have to mean showing up for others under intense circumstances.
“I think a lot of times we have that sort of need to be strong and to be invincible all the time, because we fear we’re not going to be supported. There’s not going to be anyone there to catch us,” she told theGrio on Thursday.
“That is sort of the Black woman’s narrative out there, and I think the one thing I really learned with shingles, especially going to the doctor, you know that’s the key, is that you can support [yourself,]” she continued. “You’re gonna be the one that you catch.”
For the first time, as part of “Shingles, actually,” a new shingles awareness campaign with GSK directed by filmmaker Maya Table that debuted Thursday, Oct. 8, the 61-year-old award-winning actress is opening up about her experience with the condition.
“I remember I was just surprised,” she recalled. Davis received her first shingles diagnosis roughly over a decade ago, when she was embracing new motherhood after welcoming her adoptive daughter Genesis with her husband, and a flourishing career in Hollywood after “The Help” launched her further into the limelight.
“It never occurred to me that I had shingles, but then I didn’t know anything about it,” she continued. “So, going to the doctor became my teacher.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly one in three Americans will develop shingles in their lifetime, with the risk increasing after age 50. Through the campaign, Davis hopes to raise awareness about the painful condition and the vaccine that can help prevent it, while also encouraging Black women in particular to recognize that taking care of themselves is also an act of strength.
Shingles occurs when the virus responsible for chickenpox, which can remain inactive in the body for years, reactivates, per the Mayo Clinic. Symptoms can include a painful, blistering rash, burning or tingling sensations, headaches, and fever. While the rash typically clears up within a few weeks, some people experience nerve pain that can last for months or even years.
One of the main symptoms the Oscar-winning actress recalled was the pain. What she initially thought was a spider bite turned into a rash that spread from her stomach to her back, accompanied by pain she has described as a 9 out of 10. Even everyday activities, including walking, lying down, and getting out of bed, became difficult.
“Extremely excruciating,” she said. “It’s one of those pains that even when I touched my back or touched myself, it was just excruciating pain, hard to put your clothes on, it just leveled me.”
While there is no cure for shingles, there are ways to reduce the risk of developing it. The CDC recommends two doses of the shingles vaccine, Shingrix, for adults 50 and older, as well as adults 19 and older with weakened immune systems. The vaccine is more than 90% effective at preventing shingles in adults 50 and older with healthy immune systems, and even those who have previously had the condition are encouraged to get vaccinated. Davis also couldn’t stress enough how important it is for adults to go to the doctor, even as certain things going on in the body may become normalized.
“That’s actually the most radical thing that you can do because I guarantee you, by the time you go to the doctor, you already know something is wrong, and you already want answers,” she said.
“The thing about it is, you go to the people who do know. That’s what you do. You go to the people who do know,” she continued. “That’s why I went to my doctor. That’s why I bothered my doctor. That’s what they’re there for.”
For the EGOT winner, the experience also changed how she thinks about taking care of herself, particularly as a Black woman who has spent much of her life feeling the pressure to be strong for others. Rather than treating her health as something she could put off, she learned the importance of seeking care and making herself a priority.
“I would go to the doctor, but only if I had to. I worked out, I ate right, but other than that, if there was anything going on in my body, I ignored it because it was slowing me down,” she admitted. “And that’s what I do now. I honor all of it. Whenever I’m going through anything, I go to a doctor, and that’s all around too. That’s even with mental health.”
It’s a message she hopes other Black women will take to heart, especially those who have become accustomed to showing up for everyone but themselves.
“When you imagine, as soon as you have self-worth, you see your body as this beautiful temple, and every aspect of it, even the parts of it in your heart when you’re feeling vulnerable, and you’re now feeling yourself, you honor all of it.”