I’ve been trying to think of something to write for WEEKS. Truth is I’ve been so stressed, anxious (cosmetology school finals) and just all jumbled up in my brain that recently I’ve even had a hard time concentrating on a conversation I’m having with someone let alone would I have enough concentration to write an entire blog post. I’ve felt myself slipping a little lately and forgetting how to calm myself down and how to cope when life gets a little hard or stressful. We all have times like this and that’s inevitable, but it’s all about what you do in these times that matter. You simply cannot sit and wait for something to just pass without working through it. I finally decided that I needed to take my life in my hands and I start going to therapy again next week. I hate the stigma around therapy. What in the world is wrong with valuing your mental health and going to see a professional to get help? It’s just the same as going to the doctor when you’re sick, except no one has a problem with that, because it’s not stigmatized, it’s “normal” and common. Well therapy should be that way too. I hate that people view going to therapy as weakness, as something that you have to do because you’re not strong enough to help yourself. Wrong. It makes you even stronger to humble yourself, admit you need help, and to get that help. So yeah, I’m going to therapy. Am I ashamed? Absolutely not. I used to be. The first time I started therapy it was a HUGE secret. A lot of my family members didn’t even know that I went. Why why why why?!? I understand that some people like to keep their personal life private but if we all would just open up a little, imagine how many people we can help by saying “hey, therapy is nothing to be ashamed of.” I remember one day I went to go to my counseling session and I ran into someone I knew who was also waiting for their therapist in the waiting room. At first I was so embarrassed, but then I started to realize how normal this was, how common mental illness was. Seeing this person, helped me feel so much more confident and comfortable about the fact that I was there, that we both were there and that there was absolutely nothing wrong with that. I personally think that we all need some type of therapy. Who doesn’t need life advice for themselves? Who wouldn’t want that? I am actually so excited to go back because although I didn’t need it for a while, now I do, and now I’m so happy to be able to get this expert advice in my life and learn how to put it back on track. It’s so hard to be open and vulnerable and that’s what this post is, thats what this whole blog is, but I feel that it’s so important to put this out there. So whoever is reading this, if you need help, get that help. Like my favorite podcast person (artist? Or whatever you call them) Tiffany Roe always says, “therapy is cool.” Xoxo, Imperfectly Blonde