Where I come from, the idea of paying a stranger to listen to your problems isn't just seen as a waste of money, it’s seen as a betrayal of the family. There’s this unspoken rule that your "dirty laundry" stays inside the house, and if you're struggling, you’re told to work harder, pray more, or just "toughen up" because everyone else is suffering too. It’s a heavy cycle to break. In my community, if you tell someone you’re seeing a therapist, the immediate reaction isn't "Good for you," it’s "What’s wrong with you?" or "Are you crazy?" There’s a profound fear that admitting you can’t handle your own mind is an admission of weakness or a lack of faith. We are taught to be pillars of strength, but pillars eventually crack under enough pressure. Seeing people try to patch those cracks with silence or distractions is heartbreaking, its like putting a bandage on a cracked building. Bbecause I can see how much lighter everyone would feel if they just had a safe place to set the weight down for an hour a week. I’ve realized that therapy isn't about being "broken," though that’s the narrative I was raised with. It’s actually more like having a navigator for a journey you’ve never taken before.
We spend so much time learning how to maintain our bodies, our cars, and our careers, but almost zero time learning how to maintain our internal world. In the culture I'm from, we treat the mind like a black box don't open it, don't look inside, just hope it keeps working. But that’s not living; that’s just surviving. I think the biggest hurdle isn't the time; it's the shame, especially in a male dominate society. We have to get to a point where taking care of your brain is as normal as going to the dentist for a cavity. I want to live in a world where my friends don't have to whisper when they talk about their sessions, and where my family understands that seeking help isn't a sign that they failed or are weak or are not “manly”, but a sign that I’m choosing to grow. We shouldn't have to wait until we're at a total breaking point to finally give ourselves permission to speak to other people and as a note it doesn’t even always have to be a professional therapist, just unburdening yourself to others will feel like a huge sigh of relief.
