Seeing a Therapist Isn't a Crazy Idea
Last week, I did something I thought I'd never do. No, I didn't attempt to make a salad or toss one for that matter. No, I didn't listen to some of Lil Yachty's music. No, I didn't eat some Carl's Jr and think, "Wow, this is good!" Instead, I did something a lot of people have done. I talked to a therapist.
For those of you that know me well, you're probably thinking, WTF? I don't blame you if you feel that way because I like to portray myself as bulletproof and that nothing bothers me. Actually that is not the case. I do an excellent job of masking things or blowing things off. I have developed a skill of moving on quickly. I've become good at saying goodbye to people. But sometimes things catch up with me, no matter how ahead of those things I feel. However, a few weeks ago I had a mental breakdown. So much was weighing on my mind that I felt like my neck was going to snap. On top of that I was stressed, and then I got some dreaded news I did not want to accept. The combination of all that shit got the best of me. I don't cry very often, but when that breakdown happened, I looked like Leonardo DiCaprio cutting some damn onions
A couple people who I look up to recently talked about how therapy has helped them. Charlamagne Tha God, a radio personality who is known for being honest was one of them. He often talks about going to therapy on his podcast and how much that helped him deal with stuff going on in his life. Royce Da 5'9" a legendary rapper from Detroit, mentioned in a recent interview how therapy helped him with deal with anxiety. I thought to myself, these guys are millionaires, have majorly successful careers, and here they are talking about going to therapy...huh? I found it interesting and confusing at the same time. But hearing them talk about how effective therapy was in improving their mental health, I thought, why not?
I reached out to one of my close friends after all this shit happened and talked to him, and it helped. I thought about reaching out to my parents, but I kind of knew what they were going to say without even asking them. Still, I felt like I needed to talk to someone who doesn't know me and deals with people like me, professionally. If I was ever going to go see a therapist, this was the time. I needed someone to vent to, and help me clear my mind. I felt like I needed something more than someone telling me it's going to be ok. I needed someone to help me get to that point where I knew I was going to be ok.
When I think of a therapist, I always think of Dr. Dre in Eminem's "My Name Is" music video. Eminem is in a straight jacket, laying on one of those therapist couches, as Dr. Dre is taking notes on him. The video isn't mocking anyone in therapy or a therapist for that matter. It was just a way of Eminem showing that he was off the wall and Dre was the one in charge of controlling him. When you watch that part of the video, it can generate a laugh. You might laugh at Eminem falling off the couch, and Dre looking disgusted. But that straight jacket can symbolize what a lot of people think. Only crazy people go to therapy. For years now, that stigma has existed and continues to remain. "There must be something wrong with you if you have to see a shrink," I remember hearing when I was younger from one of my friends. That still holds true today as some look at seeing a therapist as a disgrace. That stance couldn't be any further from the truth. A disgrace is not washing your hands after you take a leak. A disgrace is smacking your gum as you chew. A disgrace is doing 35 miles per hour in a 40. It is not a disgrace if someone goes and sees a therapist. Therapy still isn't normalized in today's society, but it should be. Many people out there need help, but yet are not going to therapy. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S. (43.8 million) experience mental illness in a given year. Plus, 56% of adults with a mental health condition do not receive proper treatment, according to Mental Health America. Nowadays, it kind of seems with all the mental health issues plaguing society, that it may be crazy NOT to see a therapist (if you have the resources to do so).
Dr. Dre is an amazing hip-hop producer, but probably not the ideal therapist you'd want to talk with.
Mental health therapy has come a long way from what it once was. The older option was trepanation, which is the act of drilling holes into your skull to release evil spirits. So I wasn't sure what the hell to expect when I sat down on the couch, and my therapist sat in a chair across from me with her paperwork. I was pretty sure I had seen this scenario in a porno before. Instead of stripping down, the session started with her asking questions about my childhood, which brought back some bad memories. Those questions helped her understand why I felt the way I did when I had that mental breakdown. We talked about several topics, but mainly about my anxiety and how to combat that. She gave me some useful tips that I am going to apply whenever I feel that anxiety is building up. I left that session feeling a few things. First, I was kind of sad about rekindling memories about some of the things we discussed. My best friend being shot and killed, me being bullied, and feeling abandoned at times. I overcame all of that back then, and now I'm dealing with some of the same issues on top of new ones. Mainly career stuff, and personal stuff that causes my anxiety. The information I was given from my session makes me feel like I can get a better handle on this now. I am looking forward to my next session to see how I can continue to improve not only for myself but those around me who I care about.
I am not looking for any kind of sympathy for this topic. The reason I wanted to write about this is because I discovered therapy is good for your mental health. Is it going to solve your issues immediately? Probably not. Can it help you identify things and get you on the path towards solving those issues? Yes, as my case is a perfect example of that. If you need someone to talk to, try talking to someone who listens and gives advice as a career. Many successful people go to therapy. Many regular people go to therapy. Many other people need to go to therapy. In the bigger picture of life and mental health, going to therapy really isn't a crazy idea.
