#2: From Stigma to Sails: My Unexpected Therapy Voyage
Destigmatizing mental health: sharing personal stories and resources
Mental health: buzzword or lifeline? For me, it was the latter Not very long ago it was seen as a white people's problem or rich people's problem. Or if you are a visual person, then probably a sofa/couch and talking into the abyss with a person holding a diary and a didactic look to match.
In Asian backgrounds, such undercurrents still exist. If I had a dollar for every time someone shared what a bogus experience therapy was for them, I would quit my full-time job to be a writer in the mountains! I am sure I am the first one in my family to take therapy. I have always been someone going against the grain wherever I have been, but therapy is one area I am proud of being the pioneer.
I took therapy for a year in 2022. Before therapy, I was a storm-tossed sailboat: fragile, reactive, and perpetually on edge. It’s not that I didn’t have a support system. My mother has been through thick and thin with me. But even she couldn't weather every squall.
One such evening when I was ranting to a friend (bless his soul) mentioned his own "blind date" with therapy. Intrigued, I dipped my toes into the digital waters. So I tried Betterhelp. This is not an advertisement in any way. BetterHelp became my secret weapon. Audio calls, therapist matches based on background and timezone, even anonymity – it was self-discovery with a remote control. One year later, I'm a calmer, clearer captain. I know my triggers, I have coping mechanisms, and I can even spot walking landmines (aka emotional hazards) from a mile away. Now, I see the stigma around therapy for what it is: outdated and harmful.
Mostly I feel very grateful for the opportunity and awareness to avail such facilities. I know so many people in my family who could use some help so they can move beyond their triggers and being a trigger!
Ready to chart your own course? Dive into the comments and share your mental health stories. Let's build a community where support, not stigma, is the wind in our sails.
I have a tip for you to try. Ditch the drama, embrace the sunshine! ☀️with The Good Times Journal! Usually, we tend to remember all the unpleasant things that have happened during the day. We try to journal about them to process it. But that just led me to go in circles. So I changed my focus. Every time something makes you smile, jot it down. From silly jokes to stunning sunsets, capture it all! Trust me, looking back, you'll see happy patterns and rediscover what lifts your spirits. Let me know if you try it. Good luck!
Glad you had a good therapist. My therapists were mostly judgmental, but some were supportive too. However, therapy always caused more depression and made me more vulnerable. Remembering things and going through all the trauma made me more depressed. Even now I get sad remembering things. But in the end, our outlook on life helps us recover from life's problems. No one can do that. Keep on writing, it makes me feel that I am not alone in going through all this.
Been there, done that & yes - counselling was a game changer for me. I always thought that i was a tough cookie who could take any shit thrown my way. It was only after i was prescribed B.P medication that i realized i was just bottling all things inside causing my own downfall. Ur article is so well articulated & a must read for all for them to realize that- It's OK to not Be OK . That its a NORMAL thing to seek help. That v r humans after all !! Keep writing Babe, giving us such regular doses of heartfelt insights 😀😊