As I've written about once before, anxiety has been a huge part of my life from a young age. But within the last year, I've learned a lot more about why it isn't such a bad thing on the surface. Sure, anxiety can be debilitating and extremely hard to deal with and I'm not saying it's easy, but what I am saying is that you don't have to be ashamed if you're going through it and need help.
I recently went to doctors and was "prescribed" an emotional support animal. I know what you're thinking, "Are you kidding me? Is that a joke? You're ridiculous." And I get it. You're right. I am. I'm "ridiculous" because I'm using a harmless, anti-drug form of dealing with my problems. My anxiety creeps up on me at unfortunate times and in weird ways and I wanted to try something to deal with it that didn't mess with my body.
The same day I went to the doctor, I also spoke with a woman, (who I'll leave nameless), who was writing a piece on anxiety and what it looks like for different people. I mentioned to her that my doctor suggested a therapist/counselor amongst other ways of dealing with anxiety. She asked me to speak a little about why I hadn't yet tried therapy. Honestly, when you have anxiety you already feel like you're out of control. You feel like something is wrong with you like you're defective. It bothered me to think that I'd need to even consider therapy because the minute I'd set up an appointment with a therapist would feel like the minute I admitted my failure to control my life and emotions. Why would anyone want to feel like that?
I sat in front of this woman, who I hadn't known, tears streaming down my face and my vision becoming blurry. Pain unraveled in my heart and I realized then that talking about anxiety made me more emotional than I thought. I had spent a few hours talking with a doctor even before spilling out my anxiety to this woman and I hadn't cried at the doctor's office. What was it that set me off?
The realization that I eventually came to was that therapy isn't a bad thing. Asking for help isn't a bad thing. For instance, say you're wanting to work on your body and you go to the gym to perfect yourself and get better, the reaction from your peers is positive because they're commending you for taking ahold of your life. Therapy is another instance in which you're trying to improve yourself and get better but everyone looks down on you and sees you as broken if you're going to therapy. Why is there such a large gap between these two?
I don't care if you're prideful, if you're the manliest of men who don't wish to show emotions or if you're worried about what people think of you because you're thinking about going to therapy, just go. No one is too good to go to therapy or counseling. We are imperfect beings who need help. There's nothing wrong with getting help. I have yet to go to therapy/counseling but soon I'll go and perhaps write about it. Get mentally and emotionally healthier with me. Let's get rid of the negative stigma behind mental health.
